The Best Thing
by Orange-Coyote
Summary: James has been chasing Lily for years. During patrols one night he decided to finally lay it all on the line. How will Lily react? T to be safe. Multi-chapter.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: This is my first HP fanfic. James/Lily is one of the most beautiful relationships out there. I hope I somewhat did the two of them some justice. I always see fics about Lily eventually recognizing her feelings for James after he has shown he has matured. I wanted to write one where Lily has been in denial of her feelings for a while and James just lays it all out on the table, that he loves her but he can't completely change who he is for her._**

**_Today is the 30th anniversary of their heroic deaths and I wanted to post this in tribute. RIP Lily and James Potter._**

**_Hopefully this isn't too bad. Any reviews would be appreciated, good or bad. I apologize for any and all errors I may have missed. Thank you for taking the time to look this over. Hope you enjoy!_**

**Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling, our almighty Queen, and thus do not own any part of the HP franchise.**

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><p>It was her eyes. The color of them – a deep emerald green I always got lost in. The way they sparkled when she laughed; the way they gleamed when she was angry. The way they perfectly matched her complexion. The way she squinted when she was concentrating on something she was reading. The way they narrowed when she argued. Her eyes were mesmerizing.<p>

No, it had to be her hair – the auburn red mane that shone in the sunlight. The way it frizzed when she curled it. The way it fell to mid-length when she straightened it. The way it fell in waves when she let it dry naturally. It looked so soft and I just wanted to run my fingers through it for the rest of my life.

Honestly, the list of traits and characteristics that I loved about Lily went on for miles. Sirius had tried writing them all down once to embarrass me with, but he had given up after he had reached thirty.

But if I could only choose one thing, it was _definitely_ the way she glared at me when she scolded me. Her eyes took on this fire that I couldn't explain. Her nostrils would flare in the most adorable way. Her mouth would be set in a tight line, but I could still see how plump and luscious her lips were. Yep, that was it. That was the thing I loved most about Lily Evans.

"Potter!" And there was that adorable glare again. "Are you even listening to a single word that I've been saying?" We were walking the corridors together on one of our weekly patrols as Head students. Lily was still uncertain as to whether or not I was taking the position seriously and had gone into how she would murder me if I so much as abused my powers in any way.

I blinked. She didn't need to know I was admiring her more than listening to her. "Of course, my dear Lilyflower."

"Then what did I just say?" She crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the side to show her annoyance. I could tell she thought I was bluffing. Oh how little she knew me.

"You were going over how if I ruin your chances at being Head Girl you will personally see to it that I can no longer have children. You will make sure it is slow and painful. You will then make it public knowledge," I recited. She looked surprised that I had actually been listening to her rant so I added, "I always listen to you when you're talking to me. I might miss something important if I didn't."

She nodded, as if I was making a valid point. "Right. Well, just don't let me catch you doing anything stupid this year."

"I'll try my best, love." I sent her a charming smile, my most charming one in fact. It almost worked.

"Not the right answer, Potter."

I sighed. "My dearest Lilyflower, you cannot actually expect me to not do anything stupid?" I questioned.

It was Lily's turn to sigh. "I suppose you're right, Potter. Luckily for me though, I specifically stated for you to not let me _catch you_. So, as long as I am in no way involved in your childish pranks, we should be alright."

I gasped, taken aback. "Does that mean you, Head Girl Lily Evans, are giving me, Head Boy James Potter, your permission to continue on with Marauder traditions?"

"Don't push your luck, Potter," she grumbled.

"I must tell Remus about this!" I exclaimed dramatically. She huffed, an adorable sound that I had grown to love over the years. I made sure to run my hand through my hair (I knew she liked it even though she denied the fact) before adding, "And Sirius. He'll freak."

"Stop doing that!" She shouted at me, out of the blue. I _might_ have had an idea what she was talking about, but how was I to be sure?

"Doing what?" I asked innocently.

"Running your stupid hand through your hair!" She yelled, exasperated. "You know I bloody hate when you do that!"

"Did mine ears deceive me or did Lily Evans just _swear_?" I smirked at her and she instantly looked away.

She blushed, whether from anger or embarrassment I couldn't tell. I found myself thinking that it complemented her quite nicely. The blush quickly faded though as she regained her bearings.

"Yes, I did. It seems you bring out the worst in me." She looked down at her fingernails haughtily, as if I was merely dirt under her nails.

"While you bring out only the best in me," I replied.

"How does you acting like an annoying prat who can't take no for an answer bring out the best in you?" She inquired curiously.

Ouch. That hurt a little.

"Actually," she continued on with her tirade, "Why do you do that? Every time I think you might _actually_ be a good person, you ruin it with some outlandish prank or some ridiculously pompous assumption that you can ask me out and I'll just be drooling at your feet. Is that what you're really like? An annoying, immature, egocentric toerag who doesn't know when to quit?"

Ouch. That hurt a lot. Is that what she really thought of me?

"Lily." She was stunned that I had actually said her name in anything other than a mocking tone but now wasn't the time. I had to convince her that she was wrong about me. Remus had been right all along.

"Lily," I started again, "I can't believe that you see me that way. I apologize for everything I've ever done to make you view me in such a fashion. Yes, I love pulling pranks. Yes, every time I ask you out I hope with all of my being that you'll finally say yes. But I do not ever expect you to be drooling at my feet. You're not that kind of girl; you never were and you never will be. And that is one of the many things that I love about you." She gasped, but I continued on. "Yes, I said love. You may not believe me, but I _do_ love you, Lily. I've loved you since the moment I saw you on the Hogwarts Express in our first year. I love your intelligence, your wit. I love your eyes, your hair. I love the way you yell at me. I love the way you are so compassionate to those who need and deserve it. I love the way you laugh, the way you bury your nose in books when you're studying for some test you would've passed with or without the studying. I love everything about you."

"Potter, you –" She reached out her hand, trying to get me to stop talking.

"No, Lily. Let me finish." I inhaled and exhaled deeply, pulling in all my Gryffindor courage. "I know you'll refuse to speak to me after this is over, so I want to get it all out in the open now while I still have the chance." She nodded, so I went on. "You mean everything to me, but I can't completely change who I am. No matter how much I want to be with you, I can't let go of the Marauders. What we do and what we stand for. Remus, Sirius, and even Peter are like my brothers. We do nearly everything together. We're always there for each other. And part of being there for Sirius is going along with his stupid pranks, the good and the bad. I hope you can understand that." I exhaled sharply. I had finally laid it all out there. Now the quaffle was entirely in Lily's court.

I was expecting her to scream at me. Or to deny my existence and just walk away, leaving me behind and heartbroken yet again. I was even contemplating the possibility of her hexing me into oblivion. What she actually did, was something I was _not_ expecting.

She started crying. Not silent tears, but loud body-wrenching sobs. I stood there awkwardly for a minute, not really sure what to do. Should I comfort her? Should I get one of her friends and tell them what happened? Before I had a chance to make up my mind, Lily did it for me.

She threw herself at me, burying her face in my chest. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, not wanting to scare her away. She put her arms around my torso, pulling me closer; I resisted the shiver that ran down my spine. It was oddly nice having Lily in my arms, although I wished it was under different, happier circumstances.

Her sobs slowly turned to sniffles. I rubbed her back in soothing circles, relishing the moment while it lasted. Then the sniffles slowly receded. She slowly disentangled herself from my grasp, to my disappointment, and moved back far enough to be able to see all of me.

Her eyes were red and puffy. Her nose was nearly the same shade of red as her hair. I was so used to seeing the strong, confident Lily that argued with me every day. This vulnerable, fragile Lily was something utterly new to me. To me, she had never looked more beautiful.

"James?" It was barely above a whisper, and I was sure I was hearing things. Lily had _never_ spoken my first name before.

"Lily?" I approached her cautiously, not knowing if she would hex me for stepping closer to her while she was in such a state. My worry was for nothing. She stepped forward as well, closing the distance between us.

She looked up at me, her eyes showing both admiration and awe. There was also a hint of fear. What was she afraid of?

"James." The reiteration of my name was what did it. If I had ever doubted my love for Lily before, the way she had just said my name sealed the deal. The pure defenselessness that was her voice broke me. I was forever and irrevocably hers, whether she wanted me or not.

"Yeah?" I attempted to hide the waver in my voice. I don't know if it worked or not.

"Thank you." She leaned forward and pulled me into a tight hug. I returned the gesture, albeit somewhat awkwardly. "Thank you for dealing with my bitchy moods. Thank you for always trying to cheer me up after something happened with Sever-Snape. Thank you for never giving up on me."

"I could never give you up, Lily," I replied honestly. It was true. I'd rather die than not have her in my life.

"I hope it isn't too late, but I also have a confession." Lily spoke quietly, as if she were afraid to break the moment we were sharing. I nodded, encouraging her to continue. She took a quick steadying breath. "I think I'm in love with you."

I stood motionless, allowing the words to sink in. Was this reality? Or was this fantasy? Did Lily Evans, the girl I had been chasing after for nearly eight years, just say that she loves me?

As if she could read my mind, Lily chose that moment to talk. "Yes, James. I mean it. Honestly, I've been in love with you for years; I was just in denial. After being friends with Snape for so long, it was difficult to see you in any other light than as an arrogant toerag. But ever since last year when you starting going easier with the pranks and asking me out so often, I realized that maybe you weren't as bad as I always thought you were. Alice would never let it go. She kept pushing me to admit that I had feelings for you. I refused to acknowledge it at first. I was scared; scared of what could happen if I let myself fall for you. I thought that maybe if you found out that you had won, you wouldn't to be with me anymore; that you were just in it for the chase, nothing more. Then Remus found me pondering it over in the library one day. He told me everything. How you three help him out during his transformations. He also told me about the side of you I never got to see. And then I decided that I couldn't keep lying to myself anymore. I accepted that I had romantic feelings for you."

I was stunned. No, stunned wasn't a strong enough word. I was _baffled._ _Shocked. _I _never_ would have thought those words would leave Lily's lips. No matter how many times I had fantasized about Lily admitting her feelings for me, I never really thought it would happen. I thought I would just have to live the rest of my life trying to win her over; my unrequited love remaining just that – unrequited. But the love of my life had just admitted that she had been in love with me for _years._ I wanted to be angry; to tell her it was too late and that I was done waiting for her; that there was no way I would ever be able to forgive her for letting me go on like that even though she knew she had _some kind _of feelings for me. I couldn't though. She meant way too much to me for anything as petty as holding a grudge. I could never stay mad at her for long anyway.

"James?" She stepped back, looking into my eyes again. Her entire countenance was blaring concern. "Are you alright?"

I couldn't speak; I didn't know what to say. So I did the one thing I had longed to do for ages: I kissed her.

I brought my face down to hers and connected our lips. It was a slow, tender kiss that showed her exactly how alright I was. She hesitated at first, but slowly returned the kiss with the same heartfelt emotion. It wasn't a full-out snog like I had so often dreamed about, but it was perfect.

When I could no longer deny my lungs the oxygen they so urgently requested, I pulled away. Resting my forehead on Lily's, I looked into her emerald green orbs. She was smiling contently and I couldn't help but smile in return. I decided to try my luck one final time.

"Lily Evans, would you accompany me to Hogsmeade?"

Her smile widened a fraction. "Of course, James."

We shared another kiss, this one slightly more passionate. Her lips were intoxicating. They tasted like strawberries and mint. I never wanted this moment to end. Who needed air anyway?

Eventually Lily pulled away, catching her breath as I caught mine. She smiled at me and I grinned in return.

"So I take it that you're my boyfriend now?" Lily teased.

"If you'll have me."

She laughed, linking her hand with mine. I twined our fingers together and as one we made our way back to the Heads dorms. We walked quietly to the portrait that guarded our rooms. It was of a lion and a lioness, both guarding a young cub which slept beside its mother. I remember thinking when we had first arrived that the portrait was foreshadowing something, because why else would Dumbledore have picked it? Now it all made sense to me. Lily was my lioness. The one who kept me in line, provided for us just as much as I did. She was strong, resourceful, and intelligent. And now she was mine. Forever.

We walked into the common room, still hand-in-hand. I walked her to the bottom of the staircase that led up to her bedroom. We shared a quick kiss. As I let go of her hand to go to my own bedroom, Lily tugged on my hand. I turned, raising an eyebrow in question.

Lily huffed. "Why is it that _everyone _can do that but me?"

I chuckled. "While that is a very interesting question Lils, I'm assuming you had something more important to tell me?"

Lily sighed. "Yeah, I did. James, how are we supposed to tell our friends about this in the morning?"

She had a point. Our friends would all flip out, positively of course, but still. It would be a big deal to make our new relationship public. The rest of the student body was still used to our epic arguments.

"We'll figure it out in the morning." I gave her a tight hug before releasing her and walking toward the stair that led to my dorm. "Everything will work itself out, I promise." I paused at the top of the staircase, as did Lily. "Goodnight, Lily."

She smiled at me, seemingly reassured, at least for the moment. "Night, James." She walked into her room and shut the door behind her. I followed suit. I quickly changed into my pajamas and threw myself into my bed, smiling so widely I wouldn't have been surprised if my face split in two. I had finally won Lily over. She was finally mine.

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><p><strong><em>AN: If you're reading this, thank you for sticking through with me. This may or may not be continued if enough people are interested. Leave a review either way._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Hello everyone! I want to thank everyone who reviewed/alerted this story. :D_**

**_So this chapter is in Lily's POV. I'm going back and forth between James/Lily POV until I find which one I'm more comfortable with._**

**_I got a suggestion from a reviewer called _**Super Cara **_who gave me an idea that I'm going to try to incorporate into the story. Hopefully you all like it._**

**_On a side note: BONES IS ALL NEW TONIGHT! IT'S GOING TO BE GREAT! Bones' pregnancy is going to be a hilarious affair, I can just tell. (I'm a Bones fan, in case you didn't notice. If anyone else watches, let me know!)_**

**_But, I digress. I tried to write this chapter pretty quickly because I might be busy this weekend. Excuse any mistakes I may have missed. Let me know if there's any that need fixing. Here is chapter 2! Hope you enjoy!_**

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><p>I woke up in the morning feeling agreeable, which was rare for me since I was <em>not<em> a morning person in the slightest. I had once hit Petunia in the eye when she tried to wake me for breakfast. I'm still not sure if I regret that. In more recent times I had accidentally slapped Mary across the cheek when she attempted to wake me for Prefect duties. Let's just say none of the girls in my dorm were brave enough to wake me anymore after that incident. They were quite happy when I moved into my Head dorm and found a magical alarm clock already settled on my nightstand.

I stretched while I checked the time on the magical clock. 8 am. I groaned. I wanted to stay in my comfy bed forever, but unfortunately that was not an option. It was time I got a move on or I'd be late for breakfast!

I pulled the blankets off, running a hand through my bed-hair as I made my way toward the bathroom the two Heads shared. Luckily James was a morning person and he was usually up and ready by 7:30 am. We had established our routine early on after James quickly realized I was a get-up-at-the-last-possible-minute type. I don't know how he did it. Between Heads duties, N.E.W.T level classes, the things he got up to with the Marauders, Quidditch, _and_ helping Remus during the full moon, he had more than his fair share of obligations on his plate. But somehow he managed to wake up at 6 am to work out and be ready for breakfast by 7:30 every day.

I grabbed a towel and my toiletries from the linen closet. I turned the shower to a moderate temperature since I didn't have much time, quickly got out of my clothes and jumped in. I swiftly washed with my strawberries and cream body wash, shampooed and rinsed my hair, performed a nonverbal shaving spell, and turned off the water. I jumped out, wrapping the red towel around myself as I grabbed my wand to fix my hair. I felt like straightening it today. Then I walked into my bedroom to decide on my outfit. In the end I threw on the first thing I could find: my Hogwarts uniform. Most girls took measures to make the uniform their own, but I was in a hurry so I just threw my robe on over it. I put on my usual black Mary Janes and then performed a teeth cleaning charm to save time. I tossed all my books for my morning classes into my bag. I rushed down the stairs to the Great Hall, hoping I would get there with enough time to eat at least some toast.

As I entered the hall I noticed everyone was already eating. Other than a few lazy Slytherins who always came in after me, I was usually one of last ones down for breakfast. I wasn't worried though; Alice always saved me a seat and some food. I walked toward the Gryffindor table, looking for Alice's tell-tale long reddish-brown hair. I spotted her sitting across from Marlene and Dorcas, Mary sitting on her left and my reserved spot to her right. Every day I thanked Merlin for my amazing friends.

I walked over and took my spot beside Alice, smiling at each of my friends in turn. I noticed James, Sirius, and Remus sitting about a meter away and sent James a secret smile as I waved to Remus. James smiled back and I was sure that Remus had noticed. As soon as I turned back to my friends, I could hear the Marauders' hushed conversation. It was only a matter of time before Sirius would burst out screaming something or other. Probably something along the lines of: "Alright Prongs! You _finally_ won over our Lilypad!" or something embarrassing like, "Lilyflower! Does that mean you and Prongs are shagging?" I could just imagine it happening. He'd probably _Sonorus_ himself and pronounce it the entire hall with a big smirk on his face.

"Something wrong, Lils?" I looked up to see my friends looking at me in concern. They must be worried since I hadn't touched my toast yet. Usually I was ravenous in the mornings, unless something was distracting me.

"Nothing really, Marls. Just thinking." I gave them all a disarming smile and they seemed to believe me. Or at least decided they'd drop it for the moment. I was glad. I was excited to tell them about getting together with James, but I knew they would tease me mercilessly for the rest of the day as soon as they knew.

I took a bite of my toast that Alice had so wonderfully saved for me. All four girls were looking at me suspiciously so I quickly changed the subject. "So Marls, Dorcas, how's Quidditch looking this year?"

I knew Dorcas couldn't refuse a chance to talk about Quidditch. So I was more than slightly surprised when she replied, "Sorry, Lils. You're not getting off that easy."

I groaned in annoyance. They were not going to let this go until I told them. I tried a different diversionary tactic. "Shouldn't we be heading to class?"

Marlene snorted. "Nice try, Lily. But no, we don't need to be heading to class."

"What are you talking about?" We all had Advanced Potions with the 7th year Slytherins as our first class. "We can't miss Potions! Slughorn's having us brew Veritaserum again. You guys know that is my favorite potion to make!" I protested.

"Slughorn canceled. Got sick or something," Marlene replied dismissively.

"Lils," Mary interrupted politely (she always was the sweet one in our group), "I think you should just tell us what's on your mind." She was also the most persuasive in the group where I was concerned. I just found it hard to say no to her. Maybe it was because I've always been closest with her.

"Mary, Mary, Mary," I stretched out her name, buying myself enough time to think of a good excuse. "You worry too much. I was just thinking about…" _What was I think about? What was I thinking about?_ "…how handsome Remus is." _Oh yeah, nice one Lily. Very clever. No one will see through that._

"Wait…" Marlene paused to think it over. I was screwed. Marlene was bound to see right through the horrible defense. She would figure out that since I was talking about _a_ Marauder I must have been thinking of _the_ Marauder. Then she would know I was with James. And everything would be out in the open. I did not want that. _Please, please, __**please,**__ do not see through my horrible lie. __**Please.**_

"You fancy Remus!" Dorcas exclaimed. Every head in hearing distance instantly turned to look at us, specifically me, with wide eyes.

"Shhh!" I immediately tried to shush her, but it was too late. The damage had been done. And now I had to deal with fancying Remus, because there was _no way_ I was going to correct them. Not unless they figured out the truth for themselves; finding out I was dating James was bound to get an even more enthusiastic response. "Say it louder, why don't you?" I challenged her. "I don't think Filch heard you in his office," I hissed.

"Sorry, sorry." Dorcas had the manners to look ashamed, even though I doubt she meant it.

"Does that mean it's true?" Ah, Marls. Always a gossip. "Do you really fancy Remus?"

I snuck a look at the Marauders. They, along with everyone else in the hall, seemed to have heard Dorcas' outburst. Remus' expression was somewhere between amused and confused. Sirius looked… heartbroken, oddly enough. James looked as if he was suppressing laughter. And Peter… was looking between the three and deciding whose emotion he should mimic.

"You do!" Mary called out.

"Shhh!" What part of being quiet did my friends not understand? Why was I friends with them again? "Merlin, you guys. Do you want the entire country to know?"

"Sorry, sorry." At least Mary actually looked sorry. "It's just a surprise, is all."

"And why do you say that?" I was curious to hear what they'd say.

"Well, we always figured…"

"We always thought you'd end up with James," Marlene stated.

"Yeah," Dorcas agreed. "The both of you have always had some tangible sexual tension between you."

"What?" _We did not!_ "We did not!" _Did we?_

"You so did!" Marlene argued. "Remember in first year when we were in the Gryffindor common room for the first time? And then James came up to you and used that one lame pick-up line?" I thought about it and realized I did remember. "What was the line?" The question was directed toward Dorcas.

"I believe he said, 'Hey Evans, have you seen your bed yet? Would you mind if I Slytherin?'"

I remembered that one. Ugh, it was definitely one of my least favorite attempts. We weren't even sorted into Slytherin!

"Yeah, that one," Marlene consented. "And then Lily actually blushed before she threatened to hex his 'snake' off."

Mary laughed. "That was a good one."

"Or how about second year," Dorcas offered. "Remember when we were in Potions and the two of you got partnered together to brew Amortentia because old Sluggy didn't know any better? And then James said the only things he smelled were Quidditch and you? Your cheeks turned so red I almost thought you had a fever."

I also remembered that incident. Of course I had blushed. I was only a second year and James had just implied he loved me! What young girl didn't want love?

"Oh, I've got one!" Mary interjected. We all gave her our undivided attention. "Remember in third year, our first Hogsmeade visit? We were all in Honeydukes and then the Marauders came in out of nowhere. Somehow James had figured out your favorite sweets and he begged you to allow him to buy some for you." Mary sighed dreamily. "Maybe it's just me, but I found it extremely sweet."

Okay, I guess I can't really argue against that one. It was sort of sweet. But I mean how intense was his stalking that he found out my favorite candy? It was kind of creepy at the time. You can't blame a girl for being cautious. What if he had spiked it with love potion or something?

"How about fourth year when he finally started asking you out for a date?" I was surprised Alice was participating in this. She knew exactly how I felt about James in the beginning and she had always been the one who would avoid the topic, for my sanity as well as hers. I looked over at her, the surprise evident on my features. "Oh come on Lil, don't look at me like that. You know you liked all the attention."

"I did not," I gritted out through clenched teeth. I sort of did, but I would _never _admit it out loud. Even now. James would never let me hear the end of it. I glanced at him. He was smiling. Probably enjoying my embarrassment. _Damn git._

"Lil, you told me that it, and I am quoting you here, made you feel 'special and appreciated.'" Alice grinned wickedly at me, sneaking a glance at James as she said this. "Isn't that what you said?"

"Alice Louise Prewitt, if you continue that train of thought you will wake up in the morning to find all of your love letters from Frank not only incinerated but also common knowledge of your parents," I threatened menacingly, whispering quietly enough that only Alice would hear. I really didn't want to have to stoop that low, but if Alice wasn't going to drop it, then I had to take desperate measures. I had seen some of the aforementioned love letters, and let's just say some of them were quite explicit.

Alice paled, recognizing that I wasn't joking. She looked around the hall nervously, as if her parents might come and confront her about it at any second. I resisted the urge to laugh. _Some of those letters must be worse than I thought if that's her reaction. _She wisely shut her mouth and refused to continue when prompted by Mary, Marlene, and Dorcas.

"Well, since Alice refuses to elaborate, let's move on to fifth year. Shall we?" Marlene was smirking impishly. Uh-oh. Not a good sign. That smirk meant she was planning on embarrassing someone. And I had a feeling she was going to bring up a particular incident in fifth year that I _really_ wish she wouldn't.

"Marls, please," I pleaded. I knew there was only a 1% chance it would work, but I had to try. She wagged a finger at me, smirk still firmly in place. I sighed, resigned to my fate, and laid my head down on the table.

"Does everyone remember fifth year?" Marlene was going to decimate me, I just knew it. "When someone, who will not be named, called our dearest Lily a word, which shall never be repeated? And does everyone also remember from that same incident which person stood up for our dearest Lily's honor?" She spoke quietly, so that only the five of us would hear. I was thankful. Thinking about Sever-Snape was painful enough as it was.

The girls nodded, respecting my feelings enough to not say their 'I told you so' or 'I'm so sorry' lines. They had always tried to warn me away from Sev, but he had been there for me ever since I learned I was a witch. He was the one who kept me company in the summer, away from Petunia's torture. I would always cherish the good times we had, but I knew that he was no longer the boy I was best friends with. He had chosen Voldemort and the Dark Arts over our friendship. The Severus Snape I knew was gone.

"To sixth year!" Dorcas sang cheerily. I mentally thanked her for changing the topic, although I was sure this one wouldn't be all that pleasant either. "Who remembers the enchanted lily?" All four girls smirked simultaneously. I groaned. I _hated _that damn flower. James had charmed it to follow me _everywhere. Literally everywhere. _It had even followed me into the bathroom!

"I do! I do!" Marlene sang in response. "It was actually quite a grand gesture if you think about it."

"Yeah," Mary sighed dreamily, again. Sometimes I just wanted to tell her: "You like James so much? You take him!" (Not anymore though, obviously. We had just started officially dating last night and there was no way I was going to be just another girl on his 'quick list'. I planned on being the _last_ girl he would ever be with.)

"Remember how he charmed it to sing 'All My Loving' by the Beatles? That was priceless." Dorcas laughed. I smiled to myself. The Beatles were one of my favorite Muggle bands. (Another fact James found out. I found it creepy and endearing at the same time.)

"See, Lil? You're smiling!" Marlene gave me a look that challenged me to deny it. I couldn't really. It was too late to refute it anyway.

I nodded in defeat. She crowed in triumph. And that was when the Marauders finally decided to sit by us and either participate in or observe our craziness. James and I shared a subtle glance and a quick smile. I then had to face the music; Remus was giving me a let's-go-talk-in-the-hall-for-a-second look. I nodded.

He rose from his seat making the excuse that he needed to ask me something about our Ancient Runes homework. Remus was crafty; Ancient Runes was the only class none of our other friends had with us. Everyone seemed to accept his reasoning, so we headed out into the Entrance Hall.

Once we were a respectable distance from the giant wooden doors of the Great Hall, Remus turned to me, a sly smirk already on his face. Who said Remus was the innocent one? They must not have known him very well.

"So, I hear you fancy me."

I groaned. "Really, Remus? That's what you're going to talk about?"

He chuckled. "Not really. Well, sort of. I just wanted to tell you that James told me about the two of you." I was just about to scream, but he held up his hand. "I'm the only one he told and I am not going to tell anyone else."

I closed my mouth and then took a relieved sigh. "Thanks, Remus."

He smiled at me considerately. "I understand." He always was the understanding one, after all. "Also, James wanted me to tell you about his plan."

"Plan?" I knew nothing of any plan. "What plan?"

"You'll like it," and now the sly smirk was back, "I promise you."

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><p><em><strong>AN: Semi-cliffy. Yay! :D**_

_**Seriously though, a few things really quick:**_

_**I made up a middle name for Alice.**_

_**I've always imagined Remus to be more mischievous than people give him credit for (he was a Marauder after all!), hence why he is the only other person to know of 'The Plan.'**_

_**I have only a slight idea what the plan is at this moment in time.**_

_**I didn't want to go too deep into the Snape incident, so I just brought it up a tiny bit.**_

_**I have no idea whether or not the Beatles were actually popular in this time period, but I do love their music so just work with me.**_

_**In case you couldn't tell: I like lists. I make lists for nearly everything. :D**_

_**And I obviously made up random incidents for each year that was mentioned. Other than the Snape incident. Because, unfortunately, that happened. I wish it didn't; I think Snape could've been such a good friend to Lily during the later times in her life. But what's happened has happened. **_

_**But enough about me. Let me know what you think about this chapter! Too choppy? Too predictable? Too funny? Too weird? Whatever your thoughts, let me know. I'd really appreciate anything you have to say. REVIEW! See you all next update. :D**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_**A/N: Random observation. The song "Spacebound" by Eminem really makes me think of the situation between Lily/Snape. She means so much to him, but then after the fateful incident he has no chance with her. So he gives it all up and joins Voldemort because he feels like he doesn't really have another choice. And then she gets with James and it breaks his heart. And he feels like everything in him is dead. It's so sad. (For anyone wondering, I am a fan of Eminem.)**_

_**Anyway, I'm thinking this story is going to be somewhere between eight and ten chapters, for those of you who were wondering. I apologize for the wait. Enjoy and review!**_

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><p>"So, <em>that<em> is what you came up with?" Lily asked me as we walked to our common room after breakfast. We told the others we were going to work on homework and Heads duties. Remus had pulled her outside while everyone was eating to tell her about it. I couldn't do it; people would get suspicious.

While Lily and I had been apart overnight I had decided that we would keep our relationship a secret from our friends. It would be a fun game and the secrecy would add more excitement to our blooming romance. I knew girls liked stuff like that so I figured Lily wouldn't be much different.

"Yep," I replied smugly. "Do you like it?"

"Let me get this straight first. You want us to a) not tell our friends we're dating, b) for me to fake-date Remus, which he already knows about and agrees to, or c) keep up the charade of me hating you? But you think the best idea is to go with a mixture of all three?"

I nodded animatedly.

Lily seemed skeptical, which I could understand, but I was still disappointed that she didn't trust my evil scheme planning skills. So I threw on my biggest puppy-dog eyes and said, "But don't you trust me?"

She sighed in defeat and I knew in that moment that I had won. I mentally patted myself on the back. What? Everyone deserves a pat on the back every once in a while.

"I thought so," I declared smugly.

"I do trust you, James." Lily paused and I knew there was a "but" coming up soon. "But," (told you so), "I still don't get how this works. Why would we do something like that? Remus told me it was mostly just for laughs, but still…"

"Oh come on Lily." I moved behind her, gripping her waist and turning her around to face me. I felt her muscles relax as she looked up at me and took it as a good sign. "It'll be fun! Can't you just imagine Padfoot's face when you walk in with Moony? It'll be priceless!" I grinned, imagining the scenario myself. I could just envision Sirius either screaming in defiance at Remus for taking Lily from me, or maybe even hexing Remus. I chuckled aloud at the thought. I'm sure Padfoot was no match, but it'd still be quite a sight.

Lily's face took on a quizzical expression. "Why do you call each other those names, again?"

I forgot I never revealed any Marauder secrets to her yet. Well, we did just agree to date last night! Can't blame a bloke; it didn't really cross my mind as of yet.

"I'll explain to you later." At her frustrated look I added, "Long story."

She sighed, but nodded nonetheless. "I guess I can wait until after dinner."

"Good." I smiled, leaning down to kiss her nose gratefully. Her nose crumpled adorably and I couldn't help my laugh that escaped. She glared at me for a second, but it quickly evaporated.

"So, about that plan…" she hesitated, stepping out of my grasp.

"Yes?" I sincerely hoped she'd go with it, but if not I guess we could just tell everyone at lunch. Although that was particularly unoriginal and I really didn't want to do it that way, I would do anything to keep my Lily happy.

"I guess I can go with it."

I barely resisted jumping for joy, literally. Instead I settled with hugging Lily tightly to my chest and peppering kisses over the top of her head.

Lily giggled from her place in my arms and returned the hug. "James."

"Yes, my darling?"

"I have a condition."

I froze for a moment. Of course, I should have known. Lily just agreeing to the plan would have been too good to be true. I hoped her condition wouldn't be too difficult.

"Whatever you want, Lils."

"My condition is… that I get to tell Alice about all of this."

I sighed. I could understand her desire to have a female friend in the mix, seeing as she couldn't tell Remus _everything_ she was feeling at any given moment, but I had really wanted it to be a surprise for the rest of our friends.

"She pretty much already knows anyway," Lily added. I couldn't tell if she was serious or just trying to trick me into agreeing.

"I don't know, Lils. I mean…"

"Please."

Damn it. I could never say no to her when her voice became so… _entreating_. It wasn't fair that she could do this to me without even trying. I hated it. But, alas, there was nothing I could do except give in to her wishes.

"Fine."

I could feel Lily's lips stretch into a smile where her head was leaning up against my chest. The things I do for love.

She pulled out of the embrace, the smile I had felt still prominent on her features. "Thank you."

I grunted. "You _know_ I can't say no to you when you talk in that voice."

Lily's expression went from smug and satisfied to innocent and naïve in an instant. "I have no idea of what you speak."

I couldn't stop a smile from tugging up the corners of my lips. Lily Evans was a vixen, no matter what people said about her. I would have been proud if her cunning had been used against anyone else but me. "You, Lily Evans, are a minx."

She giggled, a sound that I had come to love more and more, and retorted, "And you love it."

"Unfortunately," I replied.

"Come on, we're going to be late to our first class." Lily grabbed my hand and started pulling me in the direction of the dungeons. I stopped, pulling her back into my chest. She looked up and glared at me. _I wonder if she knows how much I adore how her eyes sparkle when she does that…_

"James?"

Oh, right. I nearly forgot I had pulled her to a stop in the middle of the corridor. "Lils, as adorable as your eagerness to get to Potions is, I must inform you that Potions was actually canceled. Marlene didn't just make it up to get you to spill the beans."

Her nose crinkled in a mixture of annoyance and confusion. It was adorable. "Wait," the annoyance in her features disappeared while the confusion increased, "How do you know that phrase? It's a Muggle saying."

I shrugged. "Sirius and I sometimes watch Muggle television shows over the holidays."

Lily's mouth dropped. "You do?"

I chuckled at her shocked expression. "We do." Her mouth remained wide open so I added, "And my dear, you might want to close your mouth before the flies get in."

Her jaw clicked shut. She checked the time by looking at the watch on her wrist (which I learned she had gotten Dumbledore to allow) and sighed. "Well, we have fifteen minutes to kill until we need to be in the Transfiguration classroom. What do you want to do?"

I smirked mischievously. "I'm sure you already know the answer to that."

Lily began to slowly back away from me, still facing me as she said, "No. We are not going to snog before classes."

I took a long stride for her every three small steps and soon she was cornered between a wall and a suit of armor. I grinned impishly at her as I walked even closer, leaving barely any room between our bodies. I could hear her breathing grow shallow and smirked inwardly. I loved having this kind of effect on her. It was payback for making me agree to her conditions earlier.

"I have a feeling you really wouldn't mind," I taunted playfully.

"James Potter, if you take even one more step toward me, you will regret it." She was trying to intimidate me, but I could hear the slight waver in her voice. I leaned in closer, our noses brushing against each other. She whimpered in response and my grin grew wider.

"Sure you don't want a kiss? Not even a quick one?" I made sure to lower my voice an octave. She always turned to mush when I did that. And this time was no different.

"Fine, you win." And just like that Lily's lips were on mine. They were just as soft and warm as I remembered. While our first kiss last night had been tender and loving, this kiss was ardent and firm. I couldn't decide which I liked more.

Much quicker than I would have liked, Lily pulled away. Leaning her forehead against mine, she smiled contently. I noticed a spark of mischief in her eyes and had to repress a moan at how beautiful she looked.

"Time to get to class," she whispered. Her warm breath caressed my face and Transfiguration was the last thing on my mind. But I knew my Lily, which meant I knew she refused to miss any classes unless it was an emergency. And as much as this seemed more important than any class in my mind, I knew Lily would kill me if I made her late.

I slowly moved away from her, grasping her hand in mine. I sighed despondently and turned in the direction of McGonagall's classroom. Luckily it was nearby. Even if it wasn't I could've just used some shortcuts, but I wasn't sure how Lily would take to that since I hadn't yet revealed _any _of the Marauders secrets, let alone the secret passageways the four of us knew so well.

As we walked Lily entwined our fingers and happily swung our joined hands between us. Seeing as most students were already in their classrooms, we didn't have to worry about hiding our relationship.

"I'm still telling Alice, you know," Lily mentioned when the classroom door was in sight.

"I know," I replied. "Even my kisses aren't enough to deter the one and only Lily Evans," I declared dejectedly.

Lily giggled. "Maybe some other time."

"Is that a promise?" I quite enjoyed this side of Lily; bantering and teasing each other was uplifting.

She smiled and cryptically responded, "We'll see." She kissed my cheek and then made her way into the classroom. Right as she entered, the bell to signal class commencement rang. I groaned. _McGonagall is going to kill me for being late __**again**__. _I sighed, but smiled as I entered the classroom once I was sure Lily was in her seat. _Oh well, _I thought, _time with Lily will always be worth any detention McGonagall can think up._

"Would you care to explain why you are late to my class, Mr. Potter?"

I nearly felt bad for Lily; she looked so guilty. She gave me a sympathetic look as I took my seat next to Sirius. I winked in return. Lily frowned at me and I had to remind myself to look disappointed as I normally would have, or else people would begin to look at us suspiciously. I quickly changed the smile that had almost formed on my face into an annoyed frown. I hope it was convincing enough.

"Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall seemed to be in a worse mood than usual today. Her usual strict expression was now accompanied by an intense glare and a tight-lipped grimace. Things were not looking good for me.

I tried to appear unaffected though as I replied, "Sorry, Professor. Heads business. Won't happen again."

McGonagall didn't look like she believed me, but seeing as the class was already behind schedule, she let it go with a simple, "Detention. Tonight after dinner."

"Of course, Professor." She nodded in response and turned to begin lecturing. As soon as she was immersed in her speech, Sirius poked my arm to gain my attention.

"So Prongs, you and Evans, huh?" he waggled his eyebrow suggestively and I repressed a laugh. One detention was more than enough and I did not want Minnie to catch me not paying attention.

"No, Padfoot. Heads business, just like I told Minnie."

Sirius was not convinced. "Prongs, we're brothers. You don't have to lie to me."

I sighed. He was pulling the "brothers" card. But I couldn't tell him the truth; it would ruin the whole plan! So is settled with a half-truth and replied, "I know. Look, we cut it a little close because Evans was telling me off for trying to snog her."

Sirius nodded. "Now _that_ I can believe." He chuckled and I glowered at him.

We spent the rest of class alternating between actually paying attention, passing notes with each other, throwing pieces of parchment at the back of Remus' head, and thinking up prank ideas. I would glance over at Lily occasionally, trying not to be too obvious. Not that it really mattered, since I had always snuck glances at her during class. But I didn't want to freak her out now that we were actually dating. I don't think she knows exactly how much I love her. She caught me staring once and sent me a small smile before she turned back around to talk to Alice. I smiled to myself.

Before I knew it, McGonagall was wrapping up the lecture.

"And your homework for tonight is to write a one foot essay about how transfiguring a bird into a pot is simpler than changing a pot into a bird." The class groaned collectively and she tsked us. "That is a light assignment; I do not want to hear any complaining. Dismissed."

As one the students stuffed their belongings into their bags and headed toward the door. Lily was typically the last one out and today was no different. I'd usually wait for her and follow her to her next class, but I saw Remus heading in her direction and decided to watch how things played out.

Remus helped Lily place the rest of her books in her bag as she waved Alice off. Then he asked her something, but I couldn't hear what was being said. I shrugged it off, figuring I would just ask Remus later. After one last glance in their direction, I tossed my bag over my shoulder and left to Divination.

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><p>"Need some help?"<p>

I looked up from my books and detected Remus standing over me. _Wow, are all three of them that tall?_

"Sure. Thanks."

He nodded and set to work putting my books away. Since Remus was taking care of that, I looked around the essentially empty classroom. I noticed Alice standing at the end of the row of desks, silently asking if I wanted her to wait. I shook my head and waved her off. She shrugged, waved, and then left the classroom toward Herbology. (She really only took that class because Frank loved it so much. I took it because I found all of the different plants and their uses intriguing.)

"Lily?"

I turned back to Remus, giving him my undivided attention.

He held out my bag to me. "All done."

I smiled gratefully, taking the bag and swinging it over my shoulder. "Thanks."

"So, about the plan?" I wasn't really expecting him to ask about the plan. I had asked him if I could have a day to think it over and he had said yes. And now I guess it was time to make my decision. Sure, I had told James I would do it, but this would be my last chance to back out. I don't understand why James wanted to make a big game out of this… okay, well maybe I do. It is James we're talking about after all. But still. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm totally in.

"I'm in."

Remus smirked (a look I was getting more used to after learning about his mischievous side). "Great."

"Remus, what exactly _is_ the plan?" Sure I knew I was to "date" Remus, but what would that actually entail?

"Well, it's simple really. We are going to "date" each other publicly. Everyone is going to freak out, Sirius specifically. He's going to come up with some random plan to get the two of us to break up and realize that you're supposed to be with James. Then, at the moment they put their plan into action, we're going to act as if we didn't see it coming at all. But, since we do know it's coming, we're going to wait for the perfect moment and James will come in and tell everyone the truth." Remus explained it all plainly as if this was something he did every day. Well he is a Marauder… maybe this _was_ something he did every day.

"And how are you so certain that Sirius will blow up and cause a scene?" I questioned suspiciously.

"Trust me, Sirius is incredibly predictable."

"I suppose that's true."

"Yep." He took my bag from my back and swung it over his shoulder, despite my protests, and began walking toward the door. "So shall I explicate while we walk to class? Wouldn't want the perfect Miss Evans be late for a class," Remus teased.

"Well at least I've never had a detention… unlike _some people_ I know," I retorted.

"They're actually not too bad once you get used to them," he replied.

"I'm sure. But I don't plan on finding out for myself any time soon."

"Trust me, Lily. That's what I said at first too. But James and Sirius… well, let's just say that they have a way of corrupting the best of people. Just look at me! I'm sure you'll be next."

I laughed as we walked through the corridors, Remus telling me some of the less convoluted Marauders schemes of the past. I hoped sincerely that we would still be able to interact like this after everything was said and done.

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><p><em><strong>AN: And… scene. Alright honestly I've been having a bit of writer's block lately and it felt like it took ages just to write this. I feel like it's not my best, but hopefully it's not too horrible. I hope it's not confusing or anything like that. I really wanted to post something for you guys since you've all been so patient.**_

_**To explain the plan in a nutshell: James figures it will be more fun to keep their relationship a secret for a bit and then reveal it with a bang; Lily, on the other hand, would rather just tell everyone. But Remus convinces her to go along with the scheme, so she agrees. The scheme: Lily will publicly "date" Remus. Sirius, being the hothead he is, will eventually think of a plan to break them up and most likely involve James somehow. When Sirius put his plan into action, James will step in before anything too drastic occurs, announcing his relationship with Lily. Everyone will be surprised and Sirius will feel like an idiot. It should be grand.**_

_**So anyway, review and let me know what you think. Hopefully it can give me the inspiration I need to write better for the next chapter because I hate feeling like I'm disappointing you guys.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Okay, so I know that "dating" Remus may not be one of the best ideas, and I hope that this chapter helps to clear some things up. I almost considered changing the plot entirely, but then I'd have to completely rewrite chapter 3. So I used a big part of this chapter to try to explain the plan in better detail. If you still have any complaints/questions, don't hesitate to leave a message or review. This chapter will most likely be boring and/or a lot of dialogue, so just bear with me. I have to get through the boring part before I can get to Sirius and his (most likely) epic prank.**_

_**Anyway, this chapter talks about The Room of Requirement, and in this story Lily already knows about it. I know I probably misspoke about its location in the castle, and would appreciate anyone sending me its actual location so that I can fix it later. Actually, a layout of the castle in general would be nice also.**_

_**This chapter is the longest one so far. It took on a life of its own and at times I have no idea how that happened. xD**_

_**Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites, and alerts! And without further ado…**_

_**HAPPY THANKSGIVING! :D**_

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><p>"It just doesn't make any sense to me, Lils." I sighed, torn between frustration and understanding. Alice had a point; the more I thought about all of this, the crazier it sounded.<p>

I had always prided myself on being a rational individual. Sure, I knew how to let loose and have fun when the moment called for it, but I also knew that some things were meant to be taken seriously. Like a relationship with James Potter, for example. How had it come down to hiding said relationship from everyone else by pretending to be with Remus? Since the walk down to Herbology before lunch, I hadn't spoken to him so I _still _wasn't completely sure what this would plan/prank entailed.

"Don't get me wrong," Alice continued, "I understand the concept of it, but it all sounds like it's still up in the air." She sighed and patted my back consolingly. "I always thought James thought out his plans better than this."

Whenever I was around James, my defenses fell. My intelligence flew out the window. _What was I thinking saying that I would go along with this rubbish?_ I pushed the food around my plate, not really in the mood to eat anymore. Why was James so insistent on pulling Sirius' leg anyway? Wouldn't it have been funnier to turn his hair green or something? Sirius adored his hair and abhorred Slytherins… it sounded good to me. But that wasn't the point; it's not as if James would go for that idea anyway.

"Alice, do you think I should just back out of it?"

"No!" Alice jumped back, shocked at the mere mention of giving up on "The Plan" as we had named it. "The plan _will_ work. You just need to take some time to work out the details more before you put it into action."

I nodded, some of my confidence in the idea returning with Alice's encouragement. "I'm so glad I have you to help me out with this. I don't know what I'd do without you, Alice."

"Just talk to Remus when the Marauders get here," Alice advised. "Get everything straightened out."

"Yeah you're right." Alice was making a lot of sense. But I also needed to talk to James…

"But?" Alice asked. Gosh, she knows me too well.

"But I also need to talk to James… as soon as possible. But how can I talk to him in front of everyone?"

Alice laughed. I glared at her. How is this any time to laugh? Does she not notice how stressed out this is making me? She apologized quickly before explaining herself. "Lily, it's so simple." I looked at her, confused. She stifled another laugh and explained further. "You just go up to him and say something like, 'Potter. Heads duties. Meet me in the corridor in five minutes.' And then walk away before he has the chance to answer you. People would totally believe that."

"Is that really what I used to sound like?" I asked, torn between embarrassment of my actions and annoyance at how flippantly Alice is speaking about it.

"Yeah," she replied casually. "But it doesn't matter."

"Ugh," I groaned. If that is how I've been treating James up 'til now, I have no idea why he loved me.

"Just don't treat him like that anymore, and you'll be fine," Alice reminded. I nodded and tried to eat some of the pasta that I had been pushing around my plate. At that moment, Mary came and sat down next to me. She smiled and I returned it to the best of my ability. She and Alice shared a concerned look, but Alice shook her head to tell Mary to leave it alone. Thankfully, Mary agreed to not bring up the subject.

"So," Mary said as she placed some mutton and potatoes on her plate (I swear she is the only student I have ever seen eat mutton), "How's your day been going, Lils?"

I mulled the question over in my head before answering. _Well, _I thought, _I'm having second thoughts about being with James, so I guess it's not going well at all._ "Alright," I replied instead, going against every thought inside my head.

I must have been more obvious than I thought, because Alice sent me a pointed look. I shrugged. What was I supposed to do? What was I supposed to say? All of these doubts were bringing me down. I needed to talk to James. If anyone could make me feel better, it'd be him. While he annoyed me to no ends most times, he also always knew exactly what to say when I needed cheering up.

As if he could read my mind, James chose that moment to walk into the Great Hall followed by Sirius and Peter. I was surprised that Remus wasn't with them, but I supposed it was part of the plan. James sent me a quick smile as they passed, while Sirius glared at me moodily. What was that all about?

A few minutes after the trio of Marauders had begun eating, Remus finally entered the hall. He looked much happier than he usually did, which I was immediately suspicious of. Remus was only ever that happy when someone had given him a box of chocolates after he returned from his "illness." (Being a werewolf made him particularly partial to chocolate since it helped him calm down as he rested in the hospital wing.) I had expected him to go straight over to his pack of friends (no pun intended), but instead he took a seat by my side. He placed a chaste kiss on my cheek and smiled at me. Before I had time to react, he piled some Sheppard's pie onto his plate and began to eat.

I felt my cheeks heat up. I didn't know if I was more embarrassed or more surprised by the public display of affection. At no moment in time did Remus and I discuss the moment at which the plan would begin. I should have known that the two boys would put into action as soon as possible. _Jerks. Could've at least warned me._

I turned to see Alice giving me an 'are you ok?' look and Mary gaping at me. Not necessarily the kind of reaction I was hoping for, but I'd take it.

"What's wrong Mary?" I asked innocently. "You look like you've just seen a vampire or something."

Mary clicked her jaw shut, but her eyes were still wide. In any other situation I probably would've laughed. In this case though, I continued to look at her with concern.

She exhaled noisily through her nose, took a deep breath, and slowly her eyes returned to their normal size. Wordlessly, she turned away from me and began placing fish and chips onto her plate. I looked to Alice who shrugged dismissively. For a moment I wondered why Alice wasn't worried, but then I realized what had just happened.

Remus had just kissed my cheek, something he had never done in the seven years we'd been at Hogwarts. That in itself was probably odd enough to cause Mary to wonder. But add to that the fact that I had blushed and looked away… well, that was just downright gossip-worthy, even to me. Oh, God. I was in big trouble now.

By the time dinner was over, nearly everyone was whispering and sending furtive looks my way. I had never been fond of that level of attention before, and now was no different. I walked out of the Great Hall, intently avoiding eye contact with anyone I passed. Alice had offered to walk me to the Heads dorm, but I declined. This was something I had to do on my own.

I had still yet to talk to Remus or James and it was starting to worry me. Thankfully, James and I shared a dormitory. I shook my head amusedly at that thought. Just two days ago I was complaining endlessly about having to share a room with him, and now here I was being grateful for the fact. But then again, two days ago I was in complete denial over my feelings. Now, I was with James and it felt freeing. If only I could tell the world…

"Lily?" _Speak of the devil and he shall come…_

I turned to face the person who was addressing me. "Oh, hey Remus." Not exactly who I was expecting, but I would make it work.

"Sorry about the incident at dinner." Remus smiled apologetically. "You know how impatient James can be."

I laughed. "Yeah, that's for sure."

"You're not mad though?"

I shook my head. "Like you said, I know how impatient James can be. I guess I should've seen it coming."

Remus laughed, relieved. "Yeah. I'm just glad he didn't ask me to announce it from atop the House table or something equally as obnoxious."

"No, I'm sure he's saving that for a later date," I joked.

Remus shuddered. "Godric, I sure hope not."

"Remus, I wanted to ask you something…"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

I looked around the corridor. Although it was empty, I had the sensation of being watched. I knew that nearly everyone would be in their common room by now, but I really didn't want to chance being overheard by anyone.

"Why don't we go talk about this somewhere more… confidential?"

Remus glanced around the corridor, seemingly getting the same feeling I had a moment ago. He nodded and began walking toward the staircase. I followed him, curious as to where he would go. He climbed up, flight after flight. Eventually he stepped into the 7th floor corridor. As he walked down the hall toward the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, I knew exactly what his plan was.

"Room of Requirement, nice choice," I remarked appreciatively.

Remus stopped, turning to face me. His expression showed his surprise and I couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Wait, you know about the Come and Go Room?" he asked, slightly shocked and slightly impressed.

"Yeah, Alice and I found it during winter in our third year. We wanted someplace private to hang out inside the castle; since most of the school was staying inside to avoid the blizzard, it was hard to find such a place. We somehow ended up here. I was pacing back and forth, trying to think of a place where we could talk and not have to worry about being found. Then out of nowhere a door materialized." I laughed, remembering mine and Alice's looks of shock. "Afterwards I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History_. It's a very interesting aspect of the castle."

Remus nodded knowingly, most likely also having read about the room. "Yeah, it is." He strode to the space beside the tapestry and began to pace before the wall three times. After the third pass before the wall, a door materialized. The door was made of an ornate wood, carved with a random swirling pattern.

Remus reached his hand out to the sliver doorknob and turned it, motioning for me to enter. I nodded my thanks and walked through the doorway and into the room. Remus walked in behind me and shut the door. I looked around the space, satisfied with what the room had thought up.

The room was similar to the Gryffindor common room, but only half the size. In front of the blazing fireplace sat a plush red couch. Two end tables sat on either side. On one table there was a tray with two glasses of butterbeer. On the other table sat a vase with a bouquet of with lilies. Against the wall opposite the door, a bookshelf rose from floor to ceiling. It was filled with books, but I resisted the urge to look them over. I placed by bag next to the nearest table and gratefully flopped onto the couch. It was just as soft as it looked and I sighed contently. Remus watched me, amused at my antics.

"Are you quite done?" His teased and I smiled mischievously in reply.

"I suppose so," I sighed dramatically. I remained in a prone position for a few more moments, stretching my arms up and trying to keep a straight face. "Remus, you always ruin all of my fun." I sat up and Remus took the now available seat beside me.

"Not all of it," he replied pointedly. I smiled coyly at him.

"Alright, alright," I conceded, "not _all_ of it." He smiled and we both shared a chuckle.

Remus was referring to the one time I had actually stooped to James' level way back in fourth year. It was an incident like any other; James was trying to get me to date him in a ridiculous manner and I was outright refusing. He wouldn't give up though. Now that I think about it, he had been especially determined that day for some unknown reason… but I digress. The point is I, Lily Evans, actually embarrassed James that day. I had just managed to vanish the lilies he had charmed to float around my head when he came up beside me. I turned my head, prepared to hex him to oblivion, but then an idea had entered my mind and I couldn't pass it up. Instead of screaming a hex at him, like he most likely was expecting, I leaned up onto the tips of my toes and kissed the corner of his mouth. He stood there, motionless, and I couldn't help but laugh at his stunned expression. Soon enough Alice began laughing, and then the rest of the girls followed. Before long the majority of the hall was laughing, excluding the Marauders. James came back to his senses, blushed a bright red, and left the hall without a word.

To be honest, it was sort of Remus' idea. That morning during Arithmancy I was complaining about James and Remus had suggested I do something to shut him up rather than just complain about it. His words had resonated in my mind the rest of the day, and the incident with James later was just too good to pass up.

I was shortly brought back to the present by Remus poking me in the side. In that moment I remembered why I was sitting with him in the Room of Requirement in the first place.

I cleared my throat. "Right. So I wanted to ask you a few things about all of this."

"Go ahead."

"How it this supposed to be convincing?" I realized how mean that sounded and immediately tried to reword my question. "Not that you're awful or anything. It's just that we aren't exactly one of those "meant-to-be" couples if you catch what I'm saying."

Remus smiled at my discomfort before saying, "No offense taken. And if you think about it, it makes sense. We have things in common: love of reading, interest in intellectual debate, enjoying helping others with their schoolwork, etc." I thought it over for a bit and could see where he was coming from. "Plus, I've heard rumors about the two of us before in past years," he added.

"When was this?" I asked curiously. I'd never heard any of these rumors. But perhaps Marlene had threatened people about it to get them to shut up. That wouldn't be all that unusual for Marles; she always did hate when people spread rumors about her friends and often did something about it.

"Once in third year when we were Potions partners and also once in fifth year after the whole Snape incident." He said Sev(why do I still find myself doing that?)-Snape's name cautiously, as if he thought I might explode at the mere mention of it all.

I smiled to assure him that I was fine. He smiled in return. I laughed. "Wow, the students of Hogwarts really are gossipy, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Rumors spread through this castle like wildfire."

I nodded my agreement and moved on to my next concern. "Why you?" Again I felt as if the way I phrased the question sounded horrible, but Remus spoke before I could apologize.

"Well, James knew it had to be somewhat believable. And he wanted it to be someone he knew he could trust. He didn't want to pick someone who might actually fall in love with you during the ordeal. Trust me, he's jealous enough as it is."

I nodded thoughtfully. Well, that made sense. Looking back at all the failed dates I had gone on over the years, I noticed that one common factor led to each one's demise: James Potter. If Dorcas' count was correct, James had ruined exactly 15 dates in the three years I had actually tried it.

"Okay, fair enough."

"Any other questions?"

"Just one more," I replied.

"Alright. Go for it."

"Is James ashamed of me?" The question surprised me as much as it did Remus. I mean, where did that come from? Was that the root to all this doubt I was having all of a sudden? Was I scared that James would leave now that he had won the chase? Yes. I realized then and there, that I was indeed scared. Scared that James would leave; scared that he didn't really love me; scared that I was making the wrong choice.

"What?" Remus replied dumbly. I couldn't say that I blamed him; I wouldn't know how to respond either.

"Is he doing this just to embarrass me? To get back at me for all of the times I rejected him in the past?" Apparently, I had a bad case of word vomit. The words just poured out before I could even think them, let alone consider them.

Remus shook his head aggressively. "No, Lily. No, it isn't that at all."

"Then why is he playing this game? Why is he so intent on playing this joke on everyone?" I persisted.

"Because that's who James is, Lily. You know that." Remus must have seen how unconvinced I was because he went on to explaining further. "James was, is, and probably always will be, a jokester. He enjoys tricking people; making them laugh, embarrassing the crap out of them. And he wanted to incorporate you into that part of him because it's such a huge part of who he is. Yes, James has a serious side and he knows what can be joked about and what can't be. But this… this was like a golden opportunity to him. He didn't want to pass up a chance at fooling the entire school with some ridiculous and elaborate scheme."

"I know, but Remus…" Despite all of Remus' words, I was still uncertain. What was wrong with me? I was so sure about this just a day ago… and now I was crying? Merlin, help me.

"Lily, I know this is a very odd thing for James to ask of you. Hell, I wouldn't blame you if you told him to shove his plan and grow up already."I giggled, appreciating Remus' attempt to lighten the mood. He smiled encouragingly and continued his speech. "But I also know how much this all means to James. You should have seen how excited he was when he let me in on the plan. He was more ecstatic than the time we charmed shampoo to follow Snape everywhere."

"I remember that!" It was actually sort of funny, although I'd never admit that to anyone. Whenever Snape tried to get rid of the shampoo bottles, they would squirt at him. Once it had gotten into his eyes, causing him to slip and fall in the center of the Great Hall in front of everyone. While I didn't like the fact that he had been hurt, I did grudgingly admit to myself that the idea was funny.

"Yeah," Remus replied wistfully. He must have been reliving the same memory I was. His expression turned from wistful to serious in a heartbeat. "But to answer your question: No, he is not ashamed of you. No, he has no plans of leaving you if he can help it. And he is so intent on playing this joke on everyone because he thinks it'll be the prank of the century. Plus he wants the entire school to remember the day that he can officially declare you as his."

I grinned, looking forward to that day myself. I leaned forward and engulfed Remus in a tight hug. "Thanks, Remus. You always know just what to say."

He smiled, patting my back. "You're welcome. Now, I'd suggest you go talk to James about all of this. It'll be better to hear it straight from his mouth." He pulled out of the embrace, with that smile still spreading across his visage.

"Right," I replied resolutely. I would go to the dorms, talk to James, and finally put all of my irrational doubts to rest, once and for all. I stood from the couch and Remus followed suit. "See you later. Thanks again for everything."

"Not a problem, Lily. We are "dating" now after all," he teased. "What are boyfriends for?"

We both laughed. I grabbed by bag off the floor and swung it onto my shoulder. Remus walked toward the door and held it open for me. I walked out of the room, Remus following after me. We stood in the hallway, watching the door of the room we just vacated melt back into the stone wall. It still amazed me that such a room could exist.

Once the wall returned to the solid stone it had once been, Remus and I said our goodbyes.

* * *

><p>I was sitting in the common room to my and Lily's private dorms, waiting for her arrival. She was a bit later than she usually was, but I had seen her tell Alice that she was going somewhere alone so I decided not to get the map and find her. She'd have to come back to her room eventually anyway, right?<p>

It was now three-quarters of an hour after dinner. If I didn't know any better, I'd think Lily had taken to hiding in the library again. Btu she would have told me, right? I mean, we were dating now and she wouldn't just leave me hanging… right?

I ran my hand through my hair, sighing. Lily Evans reduced me to a mess, without even being in my presence. Sirius was right: I was whipped. Thinking of Sirius made me remember the plan. I smirked, not able to help myself. This was going to be perfect; Sirius' face when he found out was going to be priceless.

We always done our pranks together; planned them together, executed them together. But with this plan, Sirius was going to be completely in the dark. He was actually going to think that I had given up on Lily and told Remus to take care of her for me. I knew Sirius wasn't as stupid as people thought, but I also knew his weaknesses. If Sirius heard it from anyone else, he'd probably not believe a word of Remus and Lily dating. But I knew exactly how to word it so he would fall for the trap.

I was a little surprised that he hadn't brought up the incident from dinner already, but maybe he had just passed it off as a friendly gesture on Remus' part. Remus and Lily had become close friends over the years, so that wasn't really hard to believe. In the beginning I was utterly jealous of Remus. He was the only one of the four of us that Lily deigned to talk to. Remus had patrols with her when they became prefects. If Lily needed help in Transfiguration (her worst subject and my best), rather than asking for my help, she would go to Remus instead. I guess it was more an issue of hurt pride than actual jealousy, but it still churned my gut regardless. I even accused him once of trying to steal Lily from me. Remus had quickly put me in my right state of mind though.

I swear, Lily Marie Evans was going to be the death of me.

I heard the portrait hole open and had to resist the urge to run to Lily's side. Her hair was sticking out of its previously tidy bun and her eyes looked a bit red. She looked tired, but still just as beautiful as ever.

"Hey," she said as she placed her back just inside her bedroom.

"Hey," I replied, walking over to her and pulling her into my arms. She sighed contently, wrapping her arms around my torso. I placed a kiss into her hair and smiled. I could do this whenever I wanted now; she was mine and I was hers. "Rough day?" I asked after she remained unmoving in my arms for a few minutes.

"Mmm," she mumbled into my chest. I chuckled while rubbing soothing circles into her back.

"Wanna talk to me about it?"

She hesitated for a moment, but nodded. I led her to the couch I was sitting on just moments before and settled myself before pulling her down into my lap. She snuggled her head into the crook of my neck, not saying a word. I waited patiently, knowing that whatever it was must be serious if Lily was nervous to bring it up.

"Are you embarrassed about us?"

The question took me by surprise. She had said it quietly, the words barely above a whisper. Her voice was broken, something I had never heard before. It broke my heart to know that she thought I was embarrassed of her, of us. That was the farthest thing from the truth. Before I could answer, more questions flowed from her lips.

"Did you just make up this ridiculous plot so that you wouldn't have to tell anyone you were dating me? Or was it just to get back at me for all those times I rejected you? Do you even truly have feelings for me? What is everyone else going to think?"

"Lils," I spoke soothingly, "None of that is even close to the truth."

"Really?" Now I understood why her eyes were a bit red when she came in. That must have been why she wanted to be alone when Alice offered to stay with her. But why would she think those things? Why would she question the love I had for her? Wasn't seven years of admiration enough for her?

Despite the voice in my head telling me that she was being stupid, I replied softly. "Really."

She sniffled, wiping her nose on the back of her jumper's sleeve. "I'm sorry."

"What could you possibly be apologizing for?"

"I'm so annoying and insecure and _stupid_, for even _thinking_ -"

"Lily," I quickly interrupted her rant, "You are not stupid. You are the brightest witch to walk these halls since Minnie herself. You may be annoying at times, but I find it endearing. And as for being insecure, everyone is insecure at some point in their life."

"Even you?" she asked quietly.

"Yes, even me," I answered sincerely.

"But you're James Potter. What do you have to be insecure about?"

The question in her voice was so genuine, that for a second I forgot that Lily had hated me for so many years. In that moment I realized that while I knew so much about Lily, she knew nearly nothing about me. She had no idea what life had been like for me growing up, always worrying about my parents. She had no idea that although I put on a confident façade in front of everyone else, I would always be worried about what she thought of me. She had no idea that before every Quidditch match for my first two years on the team, I was a quivering mess that could only be fixed by a stern talk from Sirius.

"So many things, but now's not the time to discuss that."

"Because you want to focus on me, right?" She sighed resignedly.

"Right." I looked up at the clock on the wall above the mantelpiece. It was 11 o'clock. _Whoa, how the time flies._ "Come on, Lils, let's get you up to bed."

She yawned, as if on cue. "Mmm, I don't want to." I couldn't resist a smile. That was my Lily, stubborn as ever.

"You know you're tired; and besides, it's late." She shook her head in denial, stifling another yawn.

I stood from the couch, keeping a firm grip on Lily. She refused to go along quietly, kicking her feet as I walked toward her bedroom. After a few seconds though, she was sound asleep. I had always found it amusing how easily she went from kicking to being passed out. I had witnessed Dorcas and Marlene carrying her upstairs in the old Gryffindor dorms once after a Quidditch victory party in fourth year. Lily had acted the same way back then.

I pushed open the door to her room and walked over to her bed. I pulled back the covers before gently setting her down. I carefully pulled her shoes off her feet, careful not to wake her. I then pulled the sheets over her, smiling when she crawled further underneath them. She snuggled into her pillow with a content sigh, holding the pillow tightly. I smiled, watching her for a few moments before leaving and walking over to my bedroom next door.

I performed a quick teeth cleaning charm to save time, then stripped down to my boxers and hopped into bed. I laid there for a few minutes staring up at the ceiling, just thinking of everything that had happened today. It was so different seeing Lily let her emotions show that way; I was so used to her hiding her emotions from me. But now I would get to know everything about her for a second time, this time from her own point of view. It was much better than having to learn from another person or by watching from a distance. As my eyes slowly drifted shut, the last thought the crossed my mind was that I was determined to keep Lily from having to break down like that ever again.

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><p><em><strong>AN: I don't know how many of you actually read these, but for those of you who do: what did you think of this chapter? It's the longest one yet, a little over 5,000 words. I was a bit surprised, but like I said earlier, the chapter took on a life of its own so I just went with it.**_

_**I hope I cleared up any questions/concerns, but if not just let me know. **_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: One of my readers asked for James/Lily interaction. I was technically going to save that for a few chapters into the future, but I live to give my readers joy so I am adding some James/Lily time in here before Sirius comes to take James away for a serious talk (no pun intended).**_

_**I want to apologize for how horribly long it's been since I last updated. I feel horrible, really. I know none of you really care what the holdup was, but for those who care: I lost internet, and my laptop messed up so I need to save for a new one and until then I'm writing on paper and then updating at the library or a friend's house. Which sucks, but this story will go on.**_

_**Also, since I don't think I've referenced a time frame yet, I've decided it is October. So yeah.**_

_**Thanks so much for the reviews/alerts! Hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

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><p>The next day dawned, shedding light on an exhausted redhead: me. I groaned. I had never been a morning person before, but days like this only secured my hatred of mornings even more. My head was throbbing, my throat was dry, and my eyes itched like crazy. Times like these made me miss sharing a dorm with my girls. Whenever one of us was feeling sick, the others would prepare some pepper-up potion along with bringing some snacks up from breakfast.<p>

I squinted at the clock and noticed that I had overslept. Thankfully it was a Saturday, so I didn't have to worry about classes. I rarely overslept, regardless of the day, but last night had taken a bigger toll on me than I expected. I usually woke up around 8 am on weekends, but the time was now 10 am. Breakfast was nearly over and I doubted I had the strength to get dressed and down to the Great Hall before breakfast ended in one hour.

A knock sounded on my door, taking me by surprise. Who would be trying to come into my room at this time? The only ones insane enough to attempt to bother me while I was assumed to be asleep were Dorcas and Marlene, but none of the girls knew the password yet as it had just changed last night and I hadn't had the chance to tell them what the new password was. The only person who knew was James…

"Lily?" A voice I had come to easily recognized called through the wooden door. "I brought food."

I smiled despite myself. He sounded so scared; the girls must have warned him about my hatred of mornings.

"Come in, James."

The door open slowly, James cautiously sticking his head in around the door. I laughed and he took that as a cue that he was safe. He walked in carrying a silver tray containing various breakfast foods, and closed the door behind him.

"I was told you prefer toast and eggs for breakfast," he said as he placed the tray on my nightstand. I pulled the covers back and sat up, leaning against the headboard. James picked the tray up again and safely set in my lap before he took a seat next to me. Out of nowhere he procured a glass of pumpkin juice and placed it on the tray. I looked at him, torn between amusement and curiosity. He laughed. "I was also told you like pumpkin juice with your breakfast."

I nodded appreciatively and then dug in. The food was making my mouth water and I couldn't help myself. The house elves of Hogwarts had always outdone themselves, but the scrambled eggs with cheese, perfectly buttered toast, and pumpkin juice I was currently devouring tasted more like Heaven than just good food. It was only when the food was gone that I remembered James was sitting beside me, which meant he had seen my display of horrible manners. I blushed and looked up at him, half expecting a witty comment to come out of his mouth. Instead what I was on the receiving end of was an adoring gaze and a small smile.

I blushed. "What? I was hungry," I weakly defended.

"Don't mind me," he replied teasingly. "Need some more?"

I felt my cheeks redden even more and quickly hid my face behind my hair. "No," I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. He chuckled, a deep and rich sound I knew I would never tire of.

"So, what did you have planned for today?"

I paused to consider his question. Usually on Saturdays the girls and I would take a walk out by the lake, have lunch in the kitchens, and finish off the day with homework and gossip. Unfortunately, none of the girls were free this weekend. Alice was with Frank, Dorcas and Marlene were determined to practice Quidditch all day, and Mary had a date with some seventh year Hufflepuff I couldn't remember the name of. Which left me virtually alone, although I knew I would never truly be alone; I had other friends outside of the girls, but it just wasn't the same.

"I don't know," I responded. "My girls have abandoned me today."

James tsked. "Well, that just won't do." He took the now empty tray from my lap and placed it on the nearby table. He looked at me, seemingly just remembering that I was still in bed, in my pajamas, and not at all prepared to do anything. "Get dressed and we'll go do something fun." And with that, he stood and left the room.

_Well that was vague,_ I thought wryly to myself. What could James possibly have in store? Considering it was a weekend, and it was James Potter I was talking about, I guess the better question would've been what could James _not_ have in mind. I did not want to leave the comfort of my warm bed, but I also didn't want to spend the whole day just lying here, so I slowly pushed the remaining blankets off and stumbled sleepily to the bathroom.

I looked between the antique claw-foot bathtub and the modern glass shower. Did I want to take a bath or a shower? A shower would be more practical, considering James was probably waiting for me in the common room; but I really wanted a good soak in the bathtub, even if it could only last half as long as I wanted it to. Decisions, decisions. In the end I decided to just take a quick shower. I could always soak in the tub for hours later tonight.

I walked over to the shower and got the water running to the perfect temperature and then began the painstaking task of actually convincing myself to strip and get into the shower. Usually Marlene would have pushed me in by now… it was amusing how reliant I had become on my best friends/roommates. Eventually I stepped into the steaming spray, sighing contently as the warm water hit my back and massaged the knots there.

Ultimately I tore myself from my roaming thoughts and washed my hair with my favorite shampoo, strawberries and cream. I had started using the scent since I started at Hogwarts and Alice had given it to me because it would match my hair. It had been an inside joke for us ever since. Then I washed my body with my almond and vanilla soap. Vanilla was a scent that always relaxed me. It reminded me of home and my mother who always had vanilla candles set up. Once I had rinsed off, I turned off the water and stepped out. I instantly grabbed my wand and performed a drying charm so that I wouldn't have to worry about catching cold or dripping water into my room.

I wrapped a fluffy burgundy towel around my waist and another around my hair. After ensuring both towels were secure, I made my way to my room to decide what to wear. I sifted through the multitude of clothes stored in the walk-in closet, but found nothing I felt like wearing. I think that was another curse of being a female: no matter how many clothes I had, I always wanted something new because I felt as if I had nothing to wear. And now I was having a female meltdown… all thanks to James Potter. Who would've thought?

"Lily? Are you almost ready?" The object of my affections called.

"Almost," I called back. I quickly threw on my underclothes and then put on the first outfit I could find: an emerald green sweater and a dark wash pair of jeans. I added the necklace Alice had given me for my birthday last year and a silver bracelet. Throwing on my favorite gray boots, I called out to James that I'd be down in a second. Finally, I took on the task that was my hair. Luckily Mary had taught me a spell for it that would instantly tame and straighten it. I picked up my wand, waved it in a circle above my head, and recited the incantation as I felt my hair straighten itself. I hurriedly threw on some mascara and stuck a tube of lip gloss into my pocket. There wasn't time for anything else, so hopefully I looked decent enough.

As I grabbed my jacket and walked down the stairs into the common room, I heard a low whistle. I looked up from the stairs I had been so concentrated on and noticed James blatantly looking me over. I nearly hexed him but then I remembered he had every right to ogle me if he so chose, I was his girlfriend now after all, whether it was public knowledge yet or not. That would definitely take some getting used to. I blushed instead, walking the rest of the way to his side.

* * *

><p>I waited as patiently as a teenage boy can be expected to wait for his beautiful girlfriend, and I wasn't disappointed when Lily finally made her way down the staircase and graced me with her presence.<p>

Her shiny red hair hung past her shoulders, straightened this time. I smiled as I noticed the familiar frizz that came along with the straightening spell she utilized. The green sweater she wore complemented her hair and emphasized her eyes, matching them in color almost perfectly. The jeans she had chosen accentuated her long, lean legs and I found myself having difficulty tearing my gaze away.

She stood beside me now, blushing adorably. I couldn't resist smirking at her. This was definitely something I could get used to.

I offered her my arm in a gentlemanly fashion. "Shall we go?"

She nodded and took my arm hesitantly, almost as if she was worried about what I had planned. I chuckled and led her over to the portrait that led out into the corridor. We were about five feet from the dorms when her curiosity broke free. To be honest, I was surprised she had lasted that long. My Lily had always been inquisitive by nature; and if my observations of her in the past proved anything, they proved that she despised not knowing something.

"James, where are we going?"

I suppressed an eye roll. Had she always been so predictable? Maybe it was just the fact that I've been learning everything about her for so long…

"James?" I looked down at her to see a concerned expression marring her beautiful features. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I ran the back of my hand down her cheek. I grinned proudly as I felt her skin heat beneath my knuckles. "Just admiring how beautiful you look."

"As lovely as that is for you to say, you still haven't answered my question," Lily pointed out.

Damn. Almost thought that would have distracted her. Guess I should have known better.

"I'd tell you, but that would ruin the surprise."

"James." Uh-oh. That was Lily's 'tell-me-what-I-want-to-know-or-I-will-hex-you-without-mercy' voice coupled with her patented Prefect stare. I swear every good prefect has one of those! Remus has one and so do the Ravenclaw prefects. The Slytherins are just naturally sour and the Hufflepuffs are too nice to intimidate anyone. Maybe there's a class I could take…

"Ahem."

Oh right. I forgot I was standing with Lily who was currently trying to get information out of me. Honestly, you'd think she know me well enough to know that trying to intimidate me like I'm some ickle first year would work. I've been on the receiving end of that look so many times; it doesn't even really bother me anymore.

I pulled myself out of my previous musings and noticed Lily must have been reading my thoughts. Her expression had melted from her Prefect stare into an innocent 'but-you-love-me-so-why-won't-you-tell-me' pout. Damn her and her intelligence.

I sighed deeply. "Fine. Although you're going to wish you had just waited. It's much more romantic as a surprise." She grinned proudly and nodded for me to continue. "We're going to Hogsmeade."

"What? But it's not a Hogsmeade weekend…"

I smirked at her. "My dearest Lily, do you honestly think that would deter me?"

Lily shook her head, "No, I suppose not."

"Exactly." I led her up the staircase and toward the passageway that would take us to Honeydukes' cellar. I saw the witch statue up ahead and pulled Lily towards it. Once I stopped before it, Lily gave me a questioning look. I merely smiled at her before tapping the witch's hump and murmuring _Disendium_. The statue moved aside to reveal a dark passageway.

"James, is it safe to go in there?" Lily asked me warily. Is it pathetic that I practically swooned as she said my given name? I don't know if I could ever get used to that.

"Of course," I replied confidently. "Sirius, Remus, Peter, and I use this passageway all the time."

Lily looked at me reproachfully. She opened her mouth, on the edge of scolding me, but instead closed her mouth and shook her head. I could have sworn she muttered something along the lines of "Not worth it," but I can't be sure.

"Right," is what she said instead. "Let's go then."

I jumped down first, to be able to catch Lily. After a few minutes of convincing her I would catch her and everything would be fine, she followed my lead and carefully lowered herself into my arms. I held her a bit longer than necessary, just enjoying holding her and the warmth that flowed from her body. And did I mention she has these amazing eyes?

"James, you can put me down now." Oh, right.

I carefully set Lily down on her feet, grabbed one of her hands in mine, and pulled out my wand with the other. One _Lumos_ later and we could actually see the ground before us and the stone walls on either side. I walked forward confidently, keeping Lily nearby. I could feel her taking in her surroundings (don't ask, I just can) and chuckled to myself. She was always so intent on learning everything about everything; I found it quite endearing, actually.

"How long do you think this has been here?" Lily asked, her voice filled with awe. "Do you think one of the founders put it here?"

"Honestly, I don't remember. Remus is the history whiz out of the four of us."

"True. Maybe I'll ask him sometime."

We walked for what felt like hours, although I knew it was only forty-five minutes. Eventually I could see the end of the tunnel and the trapdoor that would lead into Honeydukes. I turned to Lily, motioning for her to stay quiet. She nodded her assent and I then climbed up to peek through to check if the coast was clear. Luckily it was.

I pulled myself out and reached my hands out to Lily. Again, she was a bit hesitant, but after a few seconds of deliberation she climbed up high enough that I could reach her and help the rest of the way. As soon as the trapdoor was shut, I immediately pulled out my invisibility cloak and threw it over the both of us. I also hand to instantly cover Lily's mouth to mask her gasp of surprise. I really should have told her about this beforehand…

"You have to be quiet, Lils," I whispered. "This only makes us not able to be seen; it doesn't cover any sound."

Lily nodded and I removed my hand from her mouth. I motioned with my head toward the door that led to the main floor of the store and slowly walked in that direction. I made to sure to shorten my strides so Lily would be able to keep up. Once we reached the top of the stairs I gave a silent countdown from three. Once I reached zero we dashed out onto the floor and to the entrance. Luckily, someone was walking in at just that moment so we didn't have to worry about waiting for an opportunity to get out.

When we were out the door, I guided us to a nearby alley and looked around to check for any passerby before whipping the cloak off and storing it in my pocket.

Lily was just looking at me, not saying a word. At first I thought she was angry, but I know that expression quite well and that wasn't exactly what her visage portrayed at the moment. I was on the verge of apologizing for doing whatever I did that I didn't know about when she finally spoke.

"That was _amazing_." Okay, not exactly what I was expecting, but I would go with it.

"How so?" I asked in hopes of getting her to go off on a tangent so I could enjoy that particular sparkle her eyes take on when she's excited or passionate about something.

"Well, first I learn about there being a secret passage to Hogsmeade in the castle. Then I actually get to go through said secret passage. And then, to top it all off, I learn that you have an actual invisibility cloak! Do you know how rare those are? Plus how extremely expensive they are." There was that glint I was waiting for. Godric, she's gorgeous.

"Have I ever told you how adorable you look when you're passionate about something?"

She blushed. I have to admit, I think I like being able to affect her in such a way.

"What are we going to do, then?" She asked, obviously changing the subject.

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "Didn't really give it much thought past getting out of the castle. Is there anything you'd like to do?"

Lily stood, apparently pondering what she felt in the mood to do.

Meanwhile, I looked around. The cool air of early October whipped around us, bringing hints of an early winter. Although it was a Saturday, Hogsmeade was slower than usual. Perhaps it was due to the lack of Hogwarts students I was so used to seeing on such a trip. Rather than the bustling of loud students, only the odd person walked around here and there. The only shops that seemed to have a decent amount of customers were Honeydukes and Zonkos. The Three Broomsticks was reasonably occupied by people grabbing some lunch.

"Let's go to the bookstore?" Lily suggested. I guess I should have seen that coming.

"Sure," I smiled. "But try not to kill me once we're in there. I am pretty impatient and I know that you can spend hours in there."

She nodded, took my hand, and set off toward Flourish and Blotts. I felt a grin twitching the corners of my mouth at the contact. Actually spending time with Lily, civilly and willingly (on her part), was amazing. Admittedly, I've never been this happy.

* * *

><p>I couldn't resist smiling as I watched James' face light up once I grabbed his hand. His smile was infectious, as was nearly everything else about him. It still amazes me how easily I've accepted my feelings for him and started acting on them. I guess I did have a while to come to terms with my previous denial, but now, walking through Hogsmeade on an unadvised visit with James, everything seemed real. Even that first kiss in the hallway felt like ages ago rather than mere days. Maybe James had been right all those times he told me we were meant to be together…<p>

"A sickle for your thoughts?"

"My thoughts are worth much more than a sickle," I quipped.

James laughed. "Alright, a galleon then."

"I was just thinking about how nice this feels. Us walking around together, not having to worry about being seen or judged by anyone."

"Yeah, it is nice. I can even do this." And there, right in the middle of high street, James Potter kissed me soundly on the mouth. And before I could even consider returning the kiss, he was pulling me along as if nothing happened. But I was sure anyone could tell by the smug smirk on his face that something had indeed occurred.

When I had finally broken out of my shock, I scowled playfully at him. "That was so unfair."

"All's fair in love and war, Lils."

I didn't comment. Instead I focused on enjoying the sound of leaves crunching beneath my feet as we approached the bookstore. Around Hogwarts, Hagrid always kept the grounds spotless so there were never any leaves to pile up and jump into. Now that I think about it though, I bet only the muggle-born students would think of doing such a thing.

"James?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever jumped into a pile of leaves for fun?"

James turned to me with a bemused expression. "No… should I have?"

I sighed. "Nevermind."

"No, tell me. Is it a muggle thing?" If he wasn't being so sincere, I might have thought he was teasing me. But he really seemed to not have any idea what I was talking about, so I explained the concept to him.

"I suppose you could say that. In the fall, children would rake all of the fallen leaves into a pile and then jump into them. Sort of how you would jump into a snow bank." James looked at me blankly. Wow, this was harder to describe then I thought it would be. "I'm sorry; I am horrible at describing things."

"No, no, I think I get it," he attempted to assure me. "I just don't really see how that would be fun. Snow I can understand because it's snow and snow is awesome. But leaves… I don't know, it just sounds weird to me."

"We'll have to try it sometime then," I mused resolutely.

"Are you planning our next date, Evans?"

"Maybe I am."

"I'm impressed."

I snorted and quickly covered my mouth, embarrassed. "Let's just go," I muttered and pulled him into the bookstore which had at sometime appeared in front of us.

As soon as the door closed behind us, I inhaled a deep breath and exhaled contently as the smell of old parchment and new books enveloped my sense of smell. I don't think I would ever get tired of the scent.

James gave me a weird look and I returned it with a glare. He should have known how deep my love of books is by now, especially with all the special attention he bestowed upon me over the years.

"What?" I asked quietly, as to not disturb the quietness of the store.

James shook his head. "Nothing." He was smiling, fondly I think, so I let the topic drop. I was too excited to start digging through some books anyway to start an argument when there wasn't one.

Wow, did I just decide to _not_ argue with James? That was new. Usually, I would take every opportunity that presented itself to be able to get a good argument going just for the sake of arguing. Huh. Who would've thought?

"Lily?" James' voice brought mw out of my thoughts.

I turned to look up at him. Merlin, he's tall. "Yeah?"

"Aren't you going to squeal while looking over books now?"

Oh. Right. "Yeah, of course." I started walking toward the magical creatures section, but I didn't hear James' footsteps behind me. In fact, I didn't hear his footsteps at all. I turned around to see him in the same spot. "Are you coming?" I asked slowly.

"Do I have to?" he whined. Yes, _whined._ This man will be the death of me.

"Yes," I replied shortly. He sighed exaggeratedly and walked up to my side.

"Lead the way, my darling Lilyflower."

* * *

><p>I'm going to die. I thought book shopping with Remus was painful, but doing the task with Lily was twenty times worse. At least Moony knew what he was looking for, grabbed it, and left. Sure, he would get distracted by an irrelative book here or there, but he kept the trip short since he took my childlike attention span into account. Lily, however, took me to a table and expected me to sit there quietly while she looked around. She didn't even give me a Quidditch book to distract myself with! And I wasn't allowed to get up to look for one on my own because Lily was convinced I would break something or prank someone and get her kicked out of her favorite store. Although I will admit that those though did cross my mind once or twice. But that is not the point. I am <em>not<em> some five year old child. I am a grown wizard. Maybe one with childish tendencies at times, but it could be worse. I could be like Sirius.

_Speaking of the devil…_

"Prongs!" I cringed at the large volume of Sirius' voice. And to think, that is his inside voice.

I waved Padfoot over and he came to sit next to me at the table where I was most likely doomed to spend the rest of my day. He looked pretty proud of himself, from finding me or getting some action earlier it was hard to tell.

If I had been a "playboy" at Hogwarts, then I don't know what one would call Sirius. He was three times as bad as I was. His immaculate hair and smoldering eyes supposedly drew girls in like flies. But then again I suppose it was because I had Lily to worry about and Sirius had no such thing tying him down in any way. That's not to say that girls hadn't tried, because they had. But no one had yet to steal Sirius' heart during our years at Hogwarts.

"Where's Evans?" Sirius asked, moving the hair out of his eyes as he reclined in his seat. Sometimes I wondered how he dealt with having his hair be that long. Such a length would drive me mad, but Sirius seemed to enjoy the time it took to keep his appearance up.

"Looking at books, of course," I replied tiredly. "Where else would she be?"

"Just asking, Prongsie. What's got your knickers in a twist?"

"We've been here for two hours, Pads. _Two hours._"

Sirius' face contorted between amusement and horror before he settled on a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, mate. But you knew what you were getting into."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know." Then it hit me. How did Sirius know where to find me? And how did he know I was with Lily? "Pads?"

"Yeah, Prongsie?" Sirius responded nonchalantly, studying his nails for any imperfections.

"How did you know where I was?"

"Remmy told me. Said Lilyflower wanted to look at books but he didn't feel like bringing her since he was working on his homework so he asked if you'd take her instead."

I mentally thanked Remus for being so quick on his feet. For a minute I had completely forgotten that the Hogsmeade trip was Remus' idea in the first place. "Oh, right."

Sirius' grin dropped from his features and morphed into a small frown. "Not very nice of a boyfriend if you ask me."

"Boyfriend?" I had to play along, and hopefully I could get Sirius' impression of how things stood before I said anything that might give it away.

"Yeah. You didn't see that kiss at dinner last night?" he asked, his tone almost bitter. His coal black eyes held a twinge of sadness. Whoa, didn't see that coming.

"Yeah, I did. Didn't know that's what it meant though."

"Gods, Prongs, you can be so oblivious when it comes to that girl."

"What about me?" Damn it, Lily. Could you have worse timing?

"Nothing," Sirius replied darkly. "I've come to take Pron – James, so we'll be off now."

Before I could protest or say a farewell to Lily, I was being dragged out of the store by my best mate. The last thing I saw of Lily was a bemused expression on her beautiful face.

* * *

><p><em>Well, that was odd,<em> I thought as I watched Sirius pull James out of the shop. _And to think, I was just about to tell James I was finished shopping._ I shook my head and moved toward the checkout line to buy the books I held safely in my arms.

I had found this book that would be perfect for my Transfiguration essay concerning Animagi. Sure, I could have just asked James for help considering it was his best subject, but I wanted to be able to pass on my own. Transfiguration had always been the bane of my existence, but this year was going to be different. I planned to make sure of that.

Aside from the normal fiction novels I usually picked up, I also had a book Mary and Alice had asked me to get for them. It was the newest edition of a book of beauty spells. It was called _Belle's Beauty Spells Volume 4 _by a woman named Belle Twiddling. Personally, I didn't see the appeal of such a book, but I had promised to pick it up for them so it was now resting in the pile on the counter as I was getting rung up for my purchases.

"Beauty spells?" The owner, Patrick Blotts, asked me curiously. I had become sort of a valued customer due to my love of reading and the staff knew me by name after six full years of patronage.

"For my friends," I replied. I don't know for sure if he believed me though, considering he smiled at me as he placed the book in the bag with my other tomes.

I handed him the correct amount of currency and, with a quick farewell, left the shop.

Once I was standing outside, realization hit. How was I supposed to get back into the castle without James?

* * *

><p>The forceful dragging of my (well-toned, if I may say so myself) body continued until we were on a neglected hill a few meters from the main street of the small village. Sirius unceremoniously dropped to the ground and pulled me down with him.<p>

"Oi! What's all this for?" I exclaimed indignantly.

"What are you doing with her?" Sirius asked impatiently. "You know she's with Moony." Sirius' expression morphed into a sly grin. "Unless you're planning to steal her back?" he suggested gleefully.

"Um, sure?" I replied hesitantly. That look on Sirius' face was never a good sign. And honestly, it sort of scared me. The last time I had seen that look was when he had dyed Peter's hair pink, and that lasted for about a month. I could only imagine what evil schemes were running through that dastardly mind.

"Great! I've been thinking up some stuff ever since last night," Sirius remarked enthusiastically.

"Go on." I was a bit worried albeit very curious to see what he had thought up.

"Right. So this is what I propose we do." He then leaned over and whispered his plan into my ear, looking around intermittently to see if anyone was around. Once he was finished he leaned away with an impish smirk. "So, what do you think?"

I returned his smirk with one of my own. "I think it's perfect." _This is going to be excellent_, I thought to myself. For once I found myself thankful for Sirius' insanity.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: So Sirius has disclosed his plan to James to get Lily and Remus to break up. What do you think the plan is? How will it all go down once James lets Remus in on it?**_

_**Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a review. :D**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! :D Or HAPPY HOLIDAYS if you don't celebrate that. Also just in case, Happy New Year! 2011 went by so quickly didn't it…**_

_**This is just a very short filler chapter since I was determined to give you guys at least one more chapter before the year's over. I had a completely different chapter written so if this one doesn't really float your boat, let me know and I will PM you the alternate one. It has more Sirius in it. :D**_

_**Hope you enjoy! Don't forget to review!**_

* * *

><p>Sirius and I were on the path back to Hogwarts, the map and cloak securely in my pocket. He was going on and on about his brilliant plan to get back at Remus for "stealing Evans away." I smiled indulgently and nodded at the appropriate times, not really listening to what he was saying. He could babble on for hours if no one stopped him, but he was so excited I didn't have the heart to tell him to shut it.<p>

Besides, my mind was on other things. Predominantly, the way it felt to have Lily's hand in mind as she dragged me into the bookstore earlier. And how adorable she looked as she ate the breakfast I had brought her while she laid in bed still dressed in her cute pajamas. And, most of all, the kiss we had shared in the middle of the road while we were in Hogsmeade. Her face had been priceless. I smiled at the memory.

"Prongs? Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, Pads. Of course I am," I replied readily. Sirius did not like being ignored, so even though I was ignoring him I couldn't let him catch on to that.

"If you say so," he retorted.

It was in that moment I remembered that we had stranded Lily in Hogsmeade… Crap! Now I had to get rid of Sirius somehow so I could go back down and get her.

"Hey Sirius?"

"Yeah, Prongs?"

"Did you know that today is 'Have an Early Dinner Day'?" Obviously there was no such thing, but Sirius never turned down food. The idea was foolproof; it was bound to get him off my back long enough that I could run back and get into Hondeydukes to rescue Lily.

"No!" He yelled excitedly. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"You go ahead, mate. I got to check something back at Hondeydukes."

Sirius, in his food driven lust, didn't notice the smirk I wore and instead replied, "Your loss," and took off running toward the end of the tunnel.

I chuckled at his retreating back and made my way back to Hogsmeade, hoping with all my being that Lily was okay.

* * *

><p>I wandered the streets of Hogsmeade aimlessly, hoping to find James by some miracle. It was the only way to get back to the castle. I suppose I could have just walked to the gates and convince Hagrid to let me in, but that was more likely to backfire than actually work since I would have had to explain myself and I'm horrible at lying. So I decided against that choice of action. Hmm, if I were James where would I go? Zonkos joke shop? Probably. With no other ideas I decided to take my chances and head toward the joke shop.<p>

I took care to remain as unnoticed as possible. It wouldn't be good if Dumbledore caught word of his responsible Head Girl roaming Hogsmeade on a Saturday that did not include an official Hogsmeade trip. As I pushed my way through the crowd that had gathered in the street, I caught a glimpse of a familiar mop of jet black, messy hair. _So my instincts had been correct after all._

"James!" I yelled out, hoping to grab his attention. He must not have heard me seeing as he kept walking. I called out his name again, a bit louder. "Potter!"

That seemed to catch his attention. He stopped and turned around, scanning the small crowd for who could have called his name. His gaze landed on me within a few seconds. I guess he had recognized my voice. Or perhaps I was the only female other than McGonagall who usually called him by his surname. Either way, he made his way toward me. He pushed his way through the clumps of people and I noticed Sirius was no longer with him. Why did James have such a gleeful glint in his eye? Before I could ruminate further, James was stood beside me.

"I was wondering where you got off to," he remarked.

I scowled up at him. "_You_ were the one who left _me_ if I remember correctly," I retorted playfully.

"That was all Sirius' fault."

"Sure."

"We should head back to the castle. Before old Dumbly or Minnie notice we're gone."

"Do you have the cloak?"

"Yeah. We'll be fine."

I grabbed the bag that had for a moment laid forgotten at my feet. Alice would kill me if I didn't bring back her book of beauty charms. I shrunk it and stuffed it into my pocket so it wouldn't burden me on our trek back to the castle. James took my hand and we quickly walked over to Honeydukes. We crept into an empty aisle and, after James made sure no one was around, donned the invisibility cloak and snuck into the cellar.

We stood perfectly still as one of the employees walked in to grab a box of chocolate frogs, probably for restocking the shop upstairs. Once the woman was gone I breathed a sigh o relief which I was immediately shushed for. After a few moments James opened the trapdoor and jumped down into the dark passageway. With a sense of déjà vu I sat down on the edge and then carefully dropped myself into James' waiting arms. I quickly kissed the tip of his nose before unwrapping myself from his embrace. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but I'm pretty sure he blushed.

We both lit our wands and began the journey back to the castle. In the beginning there was only a comfortable silence between us, but eventually my curiosity won out.

"So, what did you and Sirius talk about?" I asked, trying my best to keep my voice nonchalant. I didn't want to come off as one of those girls who had to know every single thing their boyfriend was doing, even if we were still a secret to the public of Hogwarts.

"Not much," James replied. "He mostly just asked what I was doing in Hogsmeade with you, considering you're 'Remus' girl' and all."

I had to admit, being addressed as Remus' girlfriend sounded plain odd. According to James though it would all be over soon enough so I wasn't too worried. "What did you tell him?" I asked curiously.

"Just that we were hanging out. But something else happened."

"What?" My nerves were on edge now. Did Sirius somehow figure out the whole secret? Had he threatened to blackmail us?

"Sirius revealed to me his diabolical plan to break up you and Remus, just as we predicted." That glint had returned in his eyes. I didn't like it one bit. It was the same glint he got when he was planning on pranking someone. The look made me feel uneasy on instinct.

I didn't know if I should be more worried or thrilled at the aspect of what Sirius could possibly have planned. "What's his plan?" I asked cautiously. Knowing Sirius, it couldn't be anything good.

"I'll tell you when we get back to the castle that way I can tell Remus at the same time."

I nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

We continued down the passageway at a leisurely pace while participating in idle chit-chat, neither of us worried about getting caught. After about half an hour the end of the tunnel was in sight. Once we reached the seemingly solid stone wall James motioned for me to stand back so that he could make sure the hallway was clear. He pushed on a certain brick in the top left corner of the wall with his wand and I watched as the slab of stone slid to the right leaving enough space for James to peak through the opening and out into the corridor. He looked for a few minutes before giving me a thumbs up, indicating the coast was clear.

"It's clear," he stated redundantly.

I nodded. We both quickly stepped out into the empty hallway. I watched in awe as the statue of the one-eyed witch slid itself back into its original position. If I didn't already know, I would have never suspected there to be a passageway in that spot.

James chuckled bringing my back to the moment at hand. "Quite cool, isn't it?"

"Very."

"Well, let's go find Remus then."

"Yeah." I paused. "Common room?"

"Most likely."

And with that we began our trek up to Gryffindor Tower to find Remus so that James could tell us all the details of Sirius' plan.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Thanks so much for all of your support. I can't believe I've gotten over twenty reviews already! You guys are all amazing!**_

_**For those of you reading this, I have an odd question. Do you read smut? If so, do you read James/Lily smut? Personally, I read smut often enough but I cannot bring myself to read James/Lily smut. For some odd reason it just feels... wrong to me to read it. Like I'm disrespecting them somehow... I don't know. I blame my screwed up brain. But seriously, what about you guys? I'm sincerely curious if you don't mind answering.**_

_**Anyway, see you next update! :D Whenever that may be.  
><strong>_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: I am a horrible person and I completely apologize for the huge wait. So many things went wrong: school started back up, huge writer's block, lack of inspiration, lack of ideas… all of it together was murderous.**_

_**On a positive note, you are all amazing, beautiful people who have gotten this story to over 30 reviews! :D I am beyond eternally grateful for all of you, readers and reviewers alike.**_

_**I hope this chapter is somewhat up to standard. If you ever have anything you'd like to see included in the story, just drop a review and/or PM and I'll be sure to consider your idea. It can be incorporating a song, a prank, a quote, a new character, etc. Just let me know.**_

_**And here is the chapter you've all (presumably) been waiting for: the unveiling of Sirius' diabolical scheme. Enjoy!**_

_**P.S. This chapter starts in James' POV.**_

* * *

><p>"Remus? Lupin? Moony!" after trying three variations of his name with no response, I was close to assuming the person I was searching for was no longer in Gryffindor Tower. Just as I was about to say so to Lily, quick light footsteps sounded down the stairs which led up to the boys' dormitory.<p>

"Sorry, had to finish the sentence I was on," was the reply once Remus Lupin stood before us. His clothes were a bit ruffled as was his hair, and if I didn't already know better I would have said he was doing something rather the opposite of working on homework.

"Sure, sure," I replied dismissively. "I have more important news."

Remus looked curiously between me and Lily. "Get together behind my back then?" his expression was dead serious and for a minute I really felt as if I was cheating with Lily. Was it that obvious? My fear must have shown on my face because in another second Remus was laughing, loudly.

"I'm only joking, James," he said between laughs. "No need to look so guilty."

I scowled at him while he and Lily shared a laugh. Even my own girlfriend was laughing at me!

"How is my being a loyal friend funny to you?" Remus continued to chuckle so I turned my attention to Lily, who at least had the courtesy to stifle her giggles. "Come on Lils, I guess he doesn't want to know all about Sirius' plan." That quickly shut him up.

"He told you? Already?" Remus asked me incredulously.

I nodded and he looked extremely impressed. I was quite proud of myself. Sure, I didn't have to work that hard to get Sirius to spill his guts, but Remus didn't need to know that.

"I have to admit that I'm somewhat impressed. Sirius is usually pretty secretive with his revenge pranks."

"Thank you ever so kindly for your praise." Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Lily watching our interaction with an amused smile. Even just that small smile took my breath away. Maybe Sirius was right; maybe Lily had me 'whipped.' But when I saw her smile or heard her laugh, it was all worth it.

"So, spill."

I blinked. "Spill what?"

Remus sighed, exasperated. "The plan, James. _Sirius' plan._"

"Oh, yeah," I replied stupidly.

"Thinking about Lily again?" Remus asked understandingly.

I nodded. That was really the only good thing to come off the rest of the Marauders knowing about my love (or obsession, as Sirius would call it) when it came to Lily. They all really understood when I just spaced out and needed them to repeat themselves again.

"Figures," I heard Remus mutter to himself.

"Anyway," I said loudly, "I know what his plan is. And I wanted to know if you're interested in hearing it."

"I would very much like to hear it."

"Good. We should probably find a safer place to discuss this…" Remus and I shared a looked and nodded in unison. Another good thing about us Marauders. We knew each other so well by now that we could communicate effectively without even needing to speak.

"Did you two forget I'm here?" Oh right, Lily didn't speak Marauder.

"Of course not," Remus replied.

"How could I possibly not notice your beauty?" I quipped.

"Shut up, Potter."

"Still can't take a compliment, then?"

"_Shut up, _Potter."

"As much as I'm enjoying this little lover's quarrel you two have going, may I please implore that you _tell me about the plan already_!"

"Aw, Remmy. It was just getting good!" I protested. Remus glared, and coupled with Lily's glare I found myself giving in and apologizing rather quickly. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry." The dreaded Prefect glares quickly melted away and I internally thanked any god that would listen. "To the dorm?"

Remus nodded. "To the dorm."

He turned and walked up the steps leading to the Gryffindor Boys' Dorms without a glance back toward either Lily or me. I guess Lily was my responsibility. What a horrid boyfriend Moony was.

I turned to Lily and quipped, "Not very considerate, is he?"

"Shouldn't we be going too?"

I sighed. "Fine. Ignore my superior people skills and completely change the subject." I walked toward the stairs, expecting Lily to follow along. She wasn't. She was standing completely still, her face showing that she was deep in thought at the moment. "Coming, Lils?"

She jumped at the sound of my voice and I couldn't resist chuckling. She glared at me and pushed past me, heading up the staircase without a word or glance in my direction.

"Does no one like me today?" I groaned before I followed in her footsteps and headed toward my shared dorm with the other Marauders.

* * *

><p>I stomped up the stairs leading to the seventh years', and consequently the Marauders', dorm room.<p>

Did James take _nothing_ seriously? This was our relationship on the line and he was joking about how Remus was an "inconsiderate" boyfriend to me. Ugh, I just didn't understand his sense of humor sometimes. Maybe I was being too hard on him, maybe I was overreacting. I blamed it all on N.E.W.T.S. I mean, seriously who made it so that you have to take OWLS _and _NEWTS? Too much testing, if you ask me.

Eventually, much quicker than I realized, I was at the top of the staircase and facing the "Hallway of Doom," as we girls called it. The boys weren't nearly as neat as I'd like. The hallway was littered with random articles of clothing, countless pieces of paper, and candy wrappers as well as empty bottles from either Firewhiskey or Butterbeer. Somehow the seventh years always had a ready supply of alcohol which I blamed on a certain Marauder named Sirius Orion Black.

I picked my way through the debris and cautiously walked to the end of the hall where the Marauders' domain lay. Apparently the last room was the best and the Marauders had of course claimed it as their own at the beginning of the year. The door was covered in drawings, notes, and I saw a familiar tie hanging around the doorknob.

I turned to see James standing behind me as if he'd been there the entire time and I hadn't left him behind in the common room mere minutes ago. I felt a bit bad about pushing him aside like that for a simple joke, but at the time it had felt like the right thing to do. I'd apologize to him later. Right now there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"Is that always there," I asked, gesturing toward the tie hanging loosely on the doorknob, "or is someone doing something in there?"

James looked between my disgusted expression and the tie a few times before he burst out laughing. Again with the unnecessary laughter! I swear, if I didn't acknowledge the fact that I love the boy standing in front of me, I would have punched him in the jaw just to get him to shut up. Instead, I stood with my arms crossed until he was all laughed out.

"Done?" I asked when his laughing outburst slowed to quiet chuckles.

"Sorry," he gasped between catching his breath. "I was just imagining Remus actually utilizing the tie rule. That would be _hilarious_."

"Wait, so guys really do that?" I asked curiously. I had always thought it was just a thing people did in movies.

"Well, Padfoot doesn't really understand the value of privacy so after an incident in third year, we instigated Marauder Rule #5: The Tie Rule."

_Of course it'd be Sirius,_ I thought wryly. Despite my better judgment I asked, "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

"You know what I mean, James."

"I've never shagged a girl in my dorm room," he said defensively. "If I'm being honest, I've never shagged anyone, period."

I gasped despite my attempt to avoid it. So James' playboy reputation was merely an overinflated rumor? But I had been so sure…

"Yes, Evans, I'm a virgin. Go on, get it all out of your system now. All the jokes and whatnot," James snapped as I remained in a stunned silence. "The big James Potter, a bloody virgin," he continued. "The farthest I've ever gone was to kiss a girl, and that was only if I was on a date with a girl. All because I thought I would save myself for you. A fat load of good that did me," he muttered.

"James…" I was about to say more but stopped when the door opened behind me. I felt James' hot breath on my cheek and stepped back. When did I get so close to James? I turned to see Remus looking between James and I cautiously, as if expecting a blowout to occur at any second.

"Everything alright?" he asked warily.

"Sure," James replied before I could utter a word. "Let's get this over with." He pushed past me and walked into the room without another word.

Remus stepped aside to let James pass and looked to me for an explanation. I couldn't give him one. I was still shell-shocked from James' spontaneous confession. _Where had that come from?_

"Are you okay, Lily?"

I realized that my face must still have been contorted into a look of bewildered surprise and I quickly smoothed out my features. "Yeah, just peachy, Remmy."

He looked anything but convinced. Thankfully he let the topic slide. "Come on in then."

* * *

><p><em>God, I am <em>_**such an idiot**_, I thought to myself as I sat on my old bed. I couldn't believe I just yelled at Lily like that. Technically I hadn't yelled, per se, but I knew I must have hurt her feelings somewhat if her face was anything to go by. I threw my head against my bedpost, not even flinching as the dull pain spread throughout my skull. I deserved to hurt. I had hurt Lily.

I looked up when I heard the door close softly. Remus led Lily over to his bed so she could have a seat and then walked over to sit beside me. He looked at me reproachfully and I lowered my head in shame. How could I have snapped at my Lily that way? What was wrong with me?

I peeked up through my eyelashes to sneak a glance at her. Her form was slouched and her face showed a mixture of confusion, frustration, deep thought, and sadness all at once. Merlin, I had done that to her. I quickly looked back at my hands, unable to keep seeing her look so forlorn. Again I berated myself. The whole point of this was to _not_ hurt Lily, to show her that I _wasn't_ a self-absorbed jerk. And I had done so well up to now.

"She'll be okay," Remus said quietly.

I looked over at him. He was wearing his usual kind face, but behind his eyes I could see the disappointment. Remus had always been the one to tell me that me and Lily were meant to be. He'd always supported my love for her. But he had also been realistic, telling me that if I wanted Lily to love me back I needed to slow down on the meaner pranks against the Slytherins, Snivellus in particular. That I had to show her the real me, not the arrogant front I put on for everyone else. And, of course, he was right. But now I had ruined everything.

"I said some mean things, Moony."

"I know, but things will work out in the end."

It still surprised me how he always knew just what to say. After all the rejections from Lily, Remus was the only one who sympathized and provided his sage advice. Sirius would either joke about it or try to convince me to give up. Peter would… usually agree with Sirius, now that I think about it. Although once or twice he did try to help, which didn't really go all that well.

I nodded, accepting Remus' reasoning. He'd never let me down before so I decided to just believe him without questioning it this time around.

Remus took my silence as acceptance and went over to talk to Lily. He sat down beside her, talking quietly enough that I couldn't hear what was being said. I wasn't worried. I knew Remus was just trying to comfort her the way he always did. He's such a compassionate guy.

Soon Lily was wiping her eyes and embracing Remus in a tight hug. I felt a jolt of jealousy in the pit of my stomach but I pushed it away. This was _Moony_. If I couldn't trust him, then who could I trust? The feeling increased when he reached around to soothingly rub her back. _No,_ I told my mind firmly. _You have no reason to be worried about Moony's intentions._ Soon enough they released each other. Remus looked apologetically at me. How did he know what I was feeling? Oh right, it's Remus.

Lily followed Moony's gaze and looked over at me. I unconsciously squirmed under her scrutinizing gaze. She released a loud sigh and stood from the bed. She walked over to where I sat and settled herself beside me. I tensed as she leaned against me, worried that I would be scolded; although a part of me really wanted to see her eyes spark the way they only did when she was agitated, I don't think liking how she looked when angry was healthy.

"I'm not mad at you, James." She sounded resigned, defeated. The complete opposite of the fiery, passionate Lily Marie Evans I know and love.

"You're not?" I asked carefully. I knew she hated to repeat herself, but I had to be sure.

She sighed again. "Yes, I'm really not."

"You're not just saying that?"

"No," she replied firmly. "Now, Remus and I are extremely curious of what Sirius has planned. Mind sharing?"

"Of course." I gestured for Remus to sit on my other side and he obliged. "What Sirius planned is…" I paused for dramatic effect. Being dramatic _is_ one of my specialties after all.

"Just spill it," Lily grumbled impatiently.

"Patience is a virtue, my dearest Lilyflower," I teased.

"James," she growled threateningly. Yes, I said _growl_. And that is not a good thing to do to a hormonal teenage boy who loves you and happens to fantasizes about you quite often. Just a word for the wise.

"Focus, Prongs," Remus said as he noticed my glazed eyes. He knew me too well. I shook the wonderful thoughts floating through my mind out of my head. Godric, that woman is going to be the death of me.

"Right, well his plan is a bit simpleminded, even for Sirius," I began. Remus and Lily nodded so I continued. "He plans to embarrass the both of you at the Christmas Ball."

"That's it?" Lily asked skeptically.

"Sort of," I replied. "He wants to embarrass the both of you so badly that not only will you be desperate to break of your relationship, but that he will also go down in history as the best prankster to ever attend Hogwarts."

"Oh, Merlin," Remus groaned. "This is going to be bad."

I nodded sympathetically. "I know mate, I know. But we'll figure something out."

Lily bemused. "Wait, I don't get it. What's so horrible?"

Remus raised his head and locked gazes with Lily. "When Sirius says the words 'best prankster to ever attend Hogwarts' in relation to a prank he's planning, that implies it's going to be a prank of epic proportions. And you do _not_ want to be on the wrong side of that prank."

I nodded emphatically to back up his words. "Remember that time Sirius had a bucket of soapy water follow Snape around for all of lunch?"

Lily nodded, her expression morphing from one of confusion to one of remembrance and finally to one of horror. "Oh God," she breathed.

"Exactly." That prank was still infamous, even four years later. Snape had insulted Padfoot's hair (which NO ONE should EVER do) and was consequently the subject of Sirius' wrath for the rest of the week. The worst of the pranks had been the bucket of soapy water. Whenever Snape so much as touched his hair, which happened a lot seeing as it often fell into his face, the bucket dumped it sudsy contents over Snape's head. And to say that _that_ was the worst one, well you can only imagine what else Sirius had done. To this day everyone, other than the Jr. Death Eaters, referred to Snape as "Sudsy Snivellus."

"What are we going to do?" Lily exclaimed. "I don't want something like that to happen to me! Especially not at the Christmas Ball!" She jumped off the bed and began pacing back and forth, every so often tugging at her hair and muttering to herself hysterically.

"Lily. Lily!" I couldn't gain her attention so I resorted to drastic measures that in any other situation would have gotten me hexed to the next millennium. I rose from my seat on my bed, grabbed her arms, and kissed her.

She tensed in my arms but I refused to move until she calmed down. Eventually she relaxed and melted into the kiss. I indulged myself in her soft lips and raspberry flavored lip gloss for a few seconds before pulling away. She still looked a bit panicked, but it was a mere sliver of what she had been just fifteen seconds ago.

"Better?" I asked, keeping her at arms' length so I could see her face. She nodded. "Good. Ready to listen to reason now?" She nodded again. "Great." I turned to face Remus. "Moony? Your ideas and reasoning?" He looked at me incredulously and I quirked an eyebrow to say, "You _are_ the voice of reason out of the group of us." He shrugged his shoulders. Great, so even the almighty Remus Lupin didn't have a preventative plan. What we were going to do now?

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><p><em><strong>AN: Don't fret dear readers, the plan details will be revealed next chapter. I just couldn't help myself from holding out one last time. :] (I am evil.)**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: And now, without further ado, the reveal of Sirius' devious plot to embarrass the crap out of Lily enough to make her want to "break up" with Remus.**_

_**I apologize for the huge gap of time between updates. I'm a horrible person. Please forgive me. I literally forced myself to sit down and get this chapter out, so I hope it's somewhat to standards. I haven't felt the urge to write in ages, but today it sprung itself upon me. if you have any questions, comments, or death threats, leave a review or PM me and I'll get back to you,**_

_**The beginning of this chapter is Sirius' POV because who better than to explain the prank than the mastermind behind it? James and Lily's POVs are unmarked, as per usual.**_

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><p><strong>-Sirius POV-<strong>

I woke up to the sun shining through my tightly drawn bed curtains and shining straight into my irises. What was the point of the damn things if they didn't keep the light out? I rubbed my eyes, slowly forcing myself to become more awake. As I sat up in my bed, preparing to go into the bathroom and begin the tedious process of getting dressed (Why do we have to wear clothes anyway?), the importance of today hit me.

It was finally the day that I had been anxiously awaiting. Today was the day of the Christmas Ball and today my plan would be put into action.

I grinned, not capable or even caring about hiding my excitement. I had been working with James on this momentous prank for _months._ I had even come up with a few back-up plans just in case. This was serious. (Ha, serious. Good one, man.) I pushed my hands through my slightly tangled locks and sighed. To put my glorious plan into action, I first had to get up and get dressed. Oh, the trials of a true prankster.

I slowly pulled the curtains of my canopy bed back, peeking out to see if any of the other Marauders were yet awake. Remus was tossing in his sleep, probably from fear of my prank. Peter was lying on his back and snoring loudly. They really need to make a spell for that. Even our well-placed Silencing charms have no effect. James was lying on his side, sighing contently and holding a green throw pillow close to his chest. He had stolen it from Lily in fourth year during one of our classic dorm raids and charmed it so that her scent was forever imprinted into the fabric. It was a bit creepy, even from my perspective, but Prongs was obsessed with the girl so none of us were really all that surprised.

Fortunately, since they were all still slumbering peacefully, I didn't have to worry about gathering any suspicion by being up at the wake of dawn. Usually I was the last one out of bed, other than Wormtail who could sleep through a hurricane, but today I just couldn't remain prone in my bed. I was too excited.

I stood up and stretched my back before tip-toeing through the remnants of debris covering my and Peter's side of the room and stepped into the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind me. I debated whether I should use Prong's, Moony's, or my own soap today. It's a question I ask myself every day, but today was a special day so I decided to go with my own soap. It had a musky, spicy scent that the females of Hogwarts couldn't deny. It had been my go-to ever since second year.

Grabbing the soap and any other necessary toiletries, I stepped inside the shower and turned it on, exhaling blissfully as the warm spray flowed down my toned, untrimmed chest. As much as I ardently wished I could simply stand there forever, I knew I was on a time limit so I quickly washed up.

I jumped out of the shower, wrapped a burgundy towel around my hips, and looked into the mirror, trying to decide what to do with my precious hair. Usually this wasn't much of a problem because I'd just let it dry naturally, but today was a special day and I had to look perfect. After staring blankly at the mirror for a few minutes, I shook my head. I was already perfect; what had I been thinking?

Newly reaffirmed in the fact of my handsomeness, I strode back out into the dorm room and walked straight to my pile of clothes to decide what to wear. From the top of the pile I could see a clean pair of boxers. I quickly threw them on, just in case either Prongs or Moony woke up. I didn't want to have to receive the "everyone-has-to-wear-clothes-Sirius" lecture again. The first ten times were more than enough.

It was a good thing I had thought of it too, because right at that moment James' head emerged from his blanket cocoon. He looked at me with bleary eyes until recognition dawned on his features and he realized where he was and who he was staring at.

"Pads? What are you doing over there?" He squinted as he reached out to grab his glasses from the bedside dresser. He paused before placing them on his nose. "Wait, you're not naked, right?"

I chuckled. "Not this time, Jamsie. Maybe you'll catch the next show."

"I hope not," he murmured as he cautiously put on his glasses.

"Whatever, Prongs. You know you want my body. I wouldn't blame you. Everybody else does too."

James groaned in disgust. "No, Pads. Just… no."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," I replied nonchalantly, "You're too obsessed with Evans to even notice anything else."

"Sirius," he sighed. "We've talked about this before. You're my best mate and nothing is ever going to change the relationship we have with each other, not even Lily."

I sighed in response. Yes, we _had_ had the discussion before, but sometimes it felt like I was losing James to Lily. He was my brother, my best mate. I would be out in the streets without his parents' hospitality. And despite the amount of times I've denied it, my life would be suck Hippogriff without James in it.

"Pads?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yep, fine and dandy."

"Why are you up so early anyway?"

A masterful subject change, Prongs. "I'm deciding what to wear to the Christmas Ball."

"You do know that's not until later tonight?"

"Yes, but I like to be prepared."

"No, you don't."

"Well, today I do."

His face scrunched in that way it does whenever he's confused. "What's so special about today?"

"You sure you're all there, Pronsgie-pie?"

"_Sirius._"

"Today is the day my magnificent plan goes into action! How could you forget?"

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><p>Oh. Right. Somehow I had completely forgotten that today was the day that Sirius had decided to put his "magnificent plan" to get Remus and Lily to "break up" into action. They had kept their "relationship" going strong during the last few months despite all of Sirius' subtle – and not-so-subtle – attempts to get them to break it off. Of course, Lily and I had had our fair share of secret dates during that time, thanks to help from Remus and Alice. Luckily Sirius had never caught on.<p>

I then remembered Sirius had been talking to me. And if there was one main thing you learn about Padfoot within minutes of meeting him, it's that he doesn't like to be ignored.

I was proven right when no more than five seconds later there was a black dog jumping excitedly on my bed. He leaned forward and began licking my face with his large, slobbery dog tongue. I lifted my arms to try to protect myself, but it was really no use.

"Sirius!" I spluttered while I tried to push him away. "I think you just got dog spit in my mouth!" Sirius merely barked happily and continued on with his torture. "Get off!"

Eventually, about five minutes of maniacal and merciless attacks, he jumped off the bed and morphed back into his human form. The same grin plastered itself across his face that he wore as a dog. Sometimes I regretted learning our Animagus forms, simply because Sirius and I had a bad habit of taking them for granted. Like what had just occurred. But Sirius saw no fault in it, and I really couldn't blame him. Having the ability to change into an animal, let the animal's thoughts and actions become your own, it was an amazing feeling.

"Cmon Prongs, have some fun!"

"Fine, fine. I'm getting up."

"Great! Get in the shower. You stink worse than a dead Hippogriff."

"Shut up, Sirius." After debating the necessity of getting up, I dragged myself into the bathroom. Once inside I realized I had completely forgotten to bring in some clean clothes to change into after my shower was over. Ever since Sirius had walked around the dorm naked the first time, we had enforced strict rules that _everyone_ had to get dressed in the bathroom. Sirius wasn't too happy at first, but he's gotten better at it. Feeling too drowsy to actually go back and grab something from my trunk, I picked up my wand – which I keep on me at all times – and _accio_ed a pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and the other necessary articles of clothing. I could always change later anyway.

I yawned and removed my glasses before stepping into the already running shower. It seems Sirius forgot to turn the tap off when he finished earlier. Good thing that the water here at Hogwarts always remains warm. I sighed contentedly as the warm water ran down the planes of my chest. If only I could stand in this comfortable, steamy room all day. But no, that wouldn't be happening. Especially not today. Sirius would drag me out himself if I wasn't out fast enough. And I had no doubt he wouldn't care about my state of undress.

That train of thought caused me to become a bit paranoid, so rather than enjoying the moment as I would have otherwise, I quickly washed up. One of these days I would sneak into the prefect bathroom again like old times and have a nice relaxing bubble bath. What, men can have bubble baths!

Once I was presentable enough, I walked out of the bathroom and into pure chaos. Not that I expected anything else, really. Living with Sirius brought along a multitude of insanity, and today was no different. Currently he was bouncing obnoxiously on Moony's bed and demanding waffles. Wormtail slept on undisturbed. I swear that guy can sleep through a Death Eater attack or something. It's uncanny.

"Sirius Black! If you do not get off of my bed in the next thirty seconds, I am going to curse your hair!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Yes."

"Okay, okay. Keep your fur on. I'm going."

Remus raised his head from his pillows and sent Sirius a patented prefect glare. I still think they must have a class for those…

"Now then, get on up Moony. Prongsie is finally out of the shower."

"No."

I watched on amusedly from beside my bed. I knew what was coming and it was going to be good.

Sirius pounced on Remus and began shouting. "Get up now! Get on up!"

Remus groaned and covered his oversensitive ears. "Sirius, do us all a favor and get off of me."

"Get up now! Get on up! Get up now! Get on up!"

"Fine! I'm up!"

"Great." Sirius jumped off of poor Moony with a self-satisfied smirk. "I knew you just needed a nudge in the right direction."

I chuckled to myself. Poor Remus was dragging himself to the bathroom, rubbing his ears. I had been the same way at first, but after living with Sirius for so long my ears had adapted to his loud volume. Thankfully my wake-up call had been tamer.

"Prongs? What are you doing? You're not wearing that for the day, are you?"

I looked down at my old t-shirt and black sleeping shorts, and then looked back up at Sirius. With the sincerest face I could muster I replied, "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

His eyes bulged comically and his mouth dropped open. "Are you being serious right now?"

"No, that's your job. I am James. You are Sirius."

"Prongs, I give you credit for the serious-Sirius joke, but now is not the time to be joking around. You can't leave the dorm while looking like _that_!"

"I can leave the dorm in whatever manner I please."

"Prongs, I forbid you from leaving this room until you change into suitable clothing."

"Pads, I forbid you to forbid me to leave this room."

"Well I forbid you from forbidding me to forbid you leaving this room."

"Then I have no choice but to forbid you from forbidding me from forbidding you from forbidding me to leave the room."

"I forbid you from forbidding me from forbidding you from forbidding me from forbidding you from forbidding me from allowing you to leave the room."

"Wait, wasn't that too many 'forbid's?" Peter asked from his place on his bed. I had even noticed he was awake, so enthused was I by my debate with Padfoot.

Sirius and I both paused to recount the argument. One turned to two turned to three turned to four turned to six. Oh, Wormtail was right after all.

"Yep, one too many. Sorry Pads, that means I win." I grinned as Sirius sulked. Remus shook his head at us from his newly acquired position at the foot of his bed while Wormy rolled over and went back to sleep. How is it that he can sleep through shrieking ghosts, but woke up enough to hear my argument with Sirius anyway?

"I think I'm going to have to agree with Sirius on this one, mate," Remus remarked. He was dressed in his usual casual attire: dark blue jeans, a plaid button-up, and white trainers. His style was so simple, yet his fan club was nearly as full as mine and Sirius'. I think it's because he has his brains going for him, too.

"But Moooooooony."

"No buts. Or I'll tell Lily."

Damn. He had me there. "Fine," I conceded, "But only this once. And only because I want to."

"Of course, James."

Sirius snorted. "Even when the girl is taken, he's still whipped by her."

I rifled through the mess that was my closet and grumbled, "Shut up, Sirius."

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><p>"Lily. Lily. <em>LILY!<em>"

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the shriek that pulled me from my pleasant dreams. I had just been dreaming that James and I were walking across a white sand beach right before the sun set. Cliché? Yes, beyond reason. But it was just one of those things I was dying to experience.

"LILY. Get up this instant! We need to decide how we'll be doing your hair for the ball tonight."

I groaned. Why were my girls so adamant about dressing up and looking overly sophisticated? I would have been more than content to go to the ball in a simple gown, some nice ballet flats, and my hair in an elegant enough ponytail. But no, they had to spend hours on hair, makeup, and accessories.

I tiredly rubbed my eyes and glared at whoever had the nerve to wake me up at… 9 am. Such an ungodly hour. Anything before ten was, really. Especially on a non-school day.

"Marlene. Go. Away."

"Nope, not going to happen," she sing-songed cheerily. "You're going to get out of your bed and go sit in front of the vanity."

"How about I don't?" I challenged.

"How about you do or you'll look terrible at the ball later?"

"How about I don't look terrible but I don't go sit at the vanity either?"

"How about you let us play with your hair or we'll tell Remus that you're being uncooperative?"

I snorted. "Go ahead and tell him."

Alice crept onto the bed and sat beside me before leaning over to whisper in my ear, "How about I tell James?"

I felt my cheeks warm instantaneously. Why did I think it a good idea to confide about this with Alice? Oh right, she's the nicest of the bunch when it comes to teasing me.

She laughed and patted my shoulder. "Now, be a good flower and sit in front of the vanity after you have a shower and brush your teeth."

"Are you saying I stink?"

"Not at all. I just know how _anal_ you are about hygiene."

Marlene and Dorcas burst into raucous laughter at the comment, while I glared at the usually gentle brunette.

"That wasn't nice at all, Ali. How would Frank feel if he knew you spoke so brashly?" I teased.

As expected, Alice flushed at the mere mention of her boyfriend's name and closed her mouth.

"Thought so," I remarked smugly as I snuggled back under my covers.

"LILY MARIE EVANS, YOU GET OUT OF THAT BED RIGHT NOW."

"Fine." I pushed my disarrayed hair out of my eyes and glanced around at my girls surrounding my bed. Despite the early hour they were all ready to go to breakfast. I groaned as I stretched my sleepy limbs above my head. After completing my usual stretching routine, I dragged myself from beneath my glorious blanket and over to my overflowing trunk. I dug around for something decent to wear after I got out of the shower. I decided on a pair of black jeans, a dark blue v-neck sweater, and my usual Gryffindor scarf.

"I'm going to shower," I told the girls sternly. "No one is allowed to disturb me."

"Yeah, yeah. We know the drill," Dorcas replied flippantly.

"Get going!" Marlene ordered impatiently.

I scoffed at her, but relented and walked into the bathroom the girls and I shared. In all honesty it was a bit of a mess. There were tubes of makeup scattered across the counters and multiple hair products on every available space. Towels were strewn across the floor by the tub/shower and I sighed to myself as I picked them up and dumped them in the dirty clothes hamper that sat next to the sink. Yes, the house elves did come up and clean the rooms at night, but it was the least we girls could do to help them out at least a tiny bit every now and again. Not that the girls listened to me despite the amount of times I had said the same thing.

I jumped into the shower, deciding to get washed up quickly before the girls barged into the room and dragged me away. They were quite nutty when a dance was concerned.

As the water slid down my skin and the steam wafted around me, I found myself wondering what James and the other Marauders were up to.

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><p>We marched down to the great Hall, somewhat surprised to see that the girls weren't present as of yet. We walked over to the Gryffindor table in the nearly empty Great Hall and sat, eagerly filling our plates with the greatest foods known to man.<p>

Sirius sat beside me. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he merely shook his head in return. I shrugged and turned back to my meal.

Moments later I felt a burning sensation in my pants pocket. I stuck my hand in and secretly pulled out the loose bit of parchment Sirius and I used in case our mirrors weren't useful. I rolled my eyes as I read the message.

_Are you ready to execute the plan?_

I cleared my head and concentrated wholly on the small piece of paper. I then focused on what I wanted my response to be and watched as the letters from Sirius' message changed before my eyes.

_What's the plan again?_

I knew Sirius would be a bit annoyed, but I needed to know that I had told Remus the exact correct information. Not a hair could be out of place if we wanted this to work.

I watched covertly as Sirius slipped his hand inside his own pocket to read my reply. As expected he shot me his signature "are you serious" look. I shrugged innocently. He turned back to the parchment and I waited for his reply.

_We have to wait until everyone leaves so we can put the spell on the archway. You know, the spell that will affect their clothing. And we still have to arrange for the enchanted mistletoe._

I nodded. Good, so I had gotten all the details right.

_Okay. Sounds like a plan._

I put the parchment away and looked up just in time to see Lily, Alice, Marlene, and Dorcas enter the hall followed by Mary McDonald, Hestia Jones, and some other girls I didn't recognize. Despite Lily's claims, she was quite popular.

Once Lily was is hearing distance, Remus stood and walked over to her, placing the now customary kiss on her cheek. It was enough to keep the majority of Hogwarts into the charade, even Peter had yet to catch on. Sirius had his suspicions, but whether out of respect for me or hatred of what Lily was doing to me, he remained quiet on the topic.

The couple returned to join us at the table along with the rest of Lily's friends.

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><p>I took my seat beside Remus, smiling shyly at James as I did. He grinned in return before Sirius turned to look at him, and then his face turned sulky. I had to suppress the laugh that wished to escape my throat. James is just so adorable when he pouts like that. Wonder why it used to annoy me so much before…<p>

"Lily?"

"Sorry?" I pulled myself out of my thoughts and turned to who had addressed me.

"I asked if you're excited for the ball tonight," Mary repeated slowly.

"Oh, yes. It ought to be fun," I replied happily. Sirius' usual grin widened just a bit and I was worried for a second. Then I remembered that Remus and James had everything sorted out, so I relaxed again. I fell into pleasant conversation with my girls, talking about the ball, what everyone was wearing, who they attending with, etc. I was genuinely happy to sit and listen to their responses, something I had never really expected. I wasn't usually fond of dances and such, but their authentic excitement was contagious and I found myself giggling right along with them.

Breakfast passed all too quickly and soon it was nearing the time that all the females of Hogwarts would return to their dorms and freshen up for the dance. Seemingly five hours was only _just_ enough time for the majority.

"Come on, Lils," Marlene said as she tugged on my arm to get me to rise from my seat. "Everyone's going up to get ready now."

I sighed. In that moment I wished I was a boy. The males of Hogwarts were going to play several games of Quidditch and others while the girls fancied themselves up, from what Remus and James had told me, and I was finding myself to be a bit jealous of their freedom.

"Right," I conceded as I slowly got to my feet. I turned the boys and bid them farewell before being dragged off to the girls' dorms, preparing myself for what would most likely be hours upon hours of torture.

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><p><em><strong>AN: Feel free to send me death threats along with your reviews. I know I deserve them.**_

_**If you're reading this, thank you for sticking with me through the tough times. I don't know what I did to deserve such lovely people as yourselves.**_


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Thank you for the reviews/alerts/favorites! You all have my undying gratitude. :D**_

_**Speaking of reviews, there was an anon review from **_Enchantedwords17**. **_**If you're reading this, thank you for your review! I completely agree with you on the pajamas to prom thing. I almost went in jeans and a t-shirt, but my friends dragged me to get a dress. Are you fond of red hair then?**_

_**Now we see Sirius enact his plan with James' help. We will also peek in on poor Lily and the process of "prettying her up" as Marlene would say.**_

_**And, for the record although it's painfully obvious, any spells you don't recognize are ones I just made up, hence their weirdness. For all intents and purposes, Sirius created said spells and the counters.  
><strong>_

_**Oh and there's a tiny hint of a Mulan reference because I just couldn't help myself. :D**_

_**Let's just say not having my usual weekly access to a computer has limited my writing inspirations and it is not my favorite thing. From now on, there will probably be apologies on my part because I feel so guilty when I don't update as much as I wish I could. If you see any grammar/spelling mistakes or any inconsistencies in the plot, just let me know.  
><strong>_

_**Ask and you shall receive. On with the chapter!**_

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><p>I couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on Lily's face as she was dragged away by her group of friends. Luckily I was a guy. Although Sirius made a big deal about looking good, it never took us more than an hour to get ready for an event, formal or otherwise.<p>

"Imagining Lily-Flower naked, are we Prongsie?"

"Shut up, Sirius."

Sirius barked a laugh. "As much as I hate to break you from your wonderful fantasies, we have work to do." He stood from his seat at the table and waved his arms with a flourish. "Let's get going."

I exhaled a long breath before joining him at the end of the table. Remus shot me a questioning glance and I nodded subtly in return. "Well, gents, it seems Pads and I are off. Moony, don't break your brain while we're gone; it's sort of important to keep around," I joked. Remus pretended to look angry with me, but we all knew it was just for show. "And Wormy," I said as I turned toward a still eating Peter. He paused and looked up at me with his beady eyes. "Don't scare anyone away, yeah?" He nodded excitedly and returned to his food.

I chuckled fondly at our resident little guy along with Sirius and Remus. Most people asked why we had allowed Peter to be a Marauder, and while we couldn't tell them the real reason (he was a huge help with Remus' "furry little problem") we could honestly say it was because he was just as crazy as us.

"Come along now, Prongise-pie."

"Prongsie-pie, Pads? Really?"

"Yep," Sirius replied cheerily. "Now move that fit arse of yours before we run out of time."

"I'm going. I'm going."

The two of us left the now more than half empty Great Hall (since all the girls had left, only some of the boys remained behind) and strolled out into the corridors. Sirius looked left while I looked right. The coast was clear so we made our way to a secret passageway so we could discuss the details of what we were about to do. Once the tapestry was securely in place, I turned to Sirius with one eyebrow raised.

"Don't give me that look," he whined.

"What look?" I asked innocently.

"_That_ look," Sirius complained, pointing at my face as he spoke.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The look that says," Sirius cleared his throat and continued on in a voice that he probably thought sounded exactly like me but sounded more like Peeves the Poltergeist, "_Sirius, what the hell are you thinking?_"

My other eyebrow rose of its own accord to join the first.

"You're doing it again!"

I rolled my eyes fondly at the dog and shook my head. "Fine, I'll stop. Happy?"

"Indeed I am. Now, let's get down to business."

"And defeat the Slytherins?"

"No."

"Aww."

"Next time, Prongs. Now we need to focus on Operation Open-Lily-Flower's-Eyes-So-She-Will-Recognize-She-Loves-You."

"That's quite a name."

"It's quite a mouthful," Sirius agreed.

"How about we call it Operation OLESSWRSLM instead?" That sounded much better in my mind.

Sirius looked at me like I had grown three heads and a tail. "How about we don't and pretend we did?"

"Deal."

Sirius nodded approvingly. "Now then, what were we supposed to be discussing?"

"Your marvelous plan and how to execute it, I believe."

"Right. So, what we do first is wait for everyone to leave the hall."

"I figured as much, Pads. A bit obvious, don't you think?"

"Shut it. Anyway, then once all the volunteers are done setting up, we go in and cast the spells on the archway to change Moony and Lily Flower's outfits. What was the spell for that again?"

"_Turnicum Altericus, _I believe. Shouldn't you remember your own spell?"

"Sure. _Anyway_, then we have to curse all the mistletoe hanging around the room. I'm assuming you remember that curse, too?"

"Yup. _Enerva Fungum._"

"Great! So we're all set."

"Yeah. Just need to wait for the hall to empty and we can get to work."

To pass the time, we sat on the floor talking about how embarrassed Remus was bound to be after the prank, planning the next prank the Marauders would unleash upon Filch, and playing a few games of Exploding Snap. We'd check the map every few minutes to see whether or not everyone had left.

About thirty minutes later, the remaining occupants of the Great Hall finally cleared out.

"_Finally,_" Sirius whined as the last little first year boy stepped out of the Great Hall. "Time to get to work."

I nodded my agreement and stood to stretch the kinks out of my back and legs. Sitting on a stone floor for half an hour really put stress on one's muscles.

Sirius and I escaped our lair undetected and walked carefully back into the Great Hall. We searched the room to make sure no one had come inside since the last time we checked the map before we began casting the needed spells. The coast was clear so I started cursing the mistletoe I had conjured while Sirius cast the spells on the entrance arch and kept a look out for people who might be roaming the corridors.

"All done," Sirius announced cheerfully about an hour later. Casting spells one multiple objects turned out to be more work than either I or Padfoot expected. "Now, what shall we do next?"

"We should probably get out of here before someone sees and gets suspicious."

"Right. To the common room!"

* * *

><p>"Marls, I think this is highly unnecessary," I complained as the girl pulled on my hair <em>again<em>.

"Everything that takes place tonight is _completely_ necessary," she retorted.

I sighed in annoyance. Yes, I loved my nutty friends dearly and I was grateful that I didn't have to worry about anything beauty-related on my own, because honestly if it was up to me I'd me going to the dance in a festive sweater, some comfortable jeans, and a nice pair of boots. Unfortunately, the ball is considered a formal affair and its dress code matches accordingly, so no jeans or sweater for me. The boots were technically allowed, but I doubt Alice or Marlene would let me leave the dorm in anything less than five inch heels and an ornate dress of some pretty color or another.

The minute we had returned to the dorm, the girls went into a frenzy. Alice tore through my closet to find the dress she had coerced me to buy last Hogsmeade weekend while Dorcas grabbed every conceivable makeup product from each of their kits. Marlene pushed me down into a chair in front of the vanity during all this madness, ordering me to stay still as she grabbed her hair supplies from her bedside dresser.

That was what led to my current predicament, wincing every now and then as Marls got a bit too excited with the way she decided to style my hair. She seemed to change her mind every five minutes going from one style to the next. Curly, straight, wavy. Completely up, completely down, half up and half down. A wispy bun, an elegant ponytail, a complex braid, a side bang, simple wisps of hair to frame my face. The constant adjustments went on and on; my hair and I suffered for what felt like hours.

I looked at Dorcas in the mirror and inquired with a pained expression, "Is this what you're going to be like when it comes time to do my makeup?"

Dorcas laughed at Marlene's offended expression before saying, "No, Lils. I'd never torture you so. I'd feel much too guilty, and you'd probably hex me anyway."

I sighed in relief. At least one of the phases of my transformation would be painless. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Dorcas replied amiably.

"Hey, what happened to Alice?" There was no sign of the spritely girl in the reflection of the mirror, and I had just seen her a few minutes ago using her wand to iron out the dress I was to wear.

Dorcas looked around with a worried frown. "I have no idea. She was here just a moment ago."

"Think she snuck off for some alone time with Frank?" Marlene suggested as she attempted yet another style on my poor hair. This time the deep red locks sat on the top of my head in what was commonly called a "ballerina bun."

I considered the thought for a second. "I guess that's possible," I mused thoughtfully, "but I don't really see Ali as the type."

"Well, either way, I hope she'll be back in time."

Marlene worked in silence for the next few minutes as Dorcas talked about what she planned to do to my face when Marlene _finally _finished doing my hair. It was one of the reasons I liked Dorcas: she was straight forward, no surprises from her. She was going with a mostly natural look: a bit of blush, golden eye shadow to match my dress, and a touch of mascara. The only thing I was anxious about was her decision to go with a bold red lipstick. Wouldn't that go horribly with my hair?

"Lils, relax. I swear I know what I'm doing. And if you really don't like it, we'll find another color."

At that moment Alice entered the room with a silver tray that held a plate of peanut butter cookies, a bar of Honeydukes chocolate, and four glasses of pumpkin juice.

"Is that where you've been?"

"Where did you get that?"

"Yes," Alice replied. "And I obtained these delicious treats from the nice house elves. They're so sweet."

She set the tray down on her bed before passing out the treats evenly amongst the four of us.

"I love peanut butter cookies," Marlene moans appreciatively as she nibbles on the cookie held in her left hand while swishing her wand over my hair with her right hand. Quite the multi-tasker.

"And I love Honeydukes chocolate," Dorcas declares.

"Who doesn't love chocolate?" I ask rhetorically as I break off another piece and toss it into my awaiting mouth.

"Remus adores chocolate," Marlene commented. "I've always wondered why. I mean sure all the other boys love sweets too, but Remus treats the sweets with a sort of reverence. I once saw him pounce on Sirius when he tried to take some Chocolate Frogs from Remus' secret stash. I never knew he took it so seriously until I saw that happen."

I unconsciously stiffened as Marlene puts the finishing touches on her hair. _Remus adores chocolate because it helps with his furry little problem,_ Lily thought to herself, _but it's not as if I can just come out and say that._

I had known about Remus being a werewolf for a few years now, but I kept the knowledge to myself for Remus' sake. He felt that anyone who found out would instantly hate him and want nothing to do with him. Apparently having James, Sirius, and me on his side didn't convince him otherwise. Plus, the whole incident where he almost seriously mauled Snape due to a manipulation of Sirius' didn't make Remus feel any more comfortable about his condition or sharing it with others.

"You okay, Lils?"

I snapped out of my inner thoughts in time to see the girls looking at me with a mix of worry and curiosity.

"Yeah, perfectly fine," I assured them. "Just thinking about Remus is all. Poor bloke. Doesn't even have a date for the ball." While that wasn't particularly true (Remus didn't want a date anyway), it was the first reasonable excuse I could think of so I just went with it. I knew the girls would take the bait as nearly everyone felt sympathetic for Remus' supposed lack of luck with the ladies of Hogwarts.

"I wonder why he doesn't have a date," Marlene mused.

"He never has a date," Dorcas pointed out.

"He says he prefers it that way," Alice added.

"It still must be sort of sad, going to the ball alone while all of his friends have dates," Marls stated sadly.

Marlene would be going with Sirius and Peter was taking some 6th year Hufflepuff he'd had the courage to ask. James would obviously be attending the ball with me, seeing as we were both Heads. They had had to make a big deal out of James apologizing to Remus for taking his 'girlfriend' away from him for the night, but Remus had convincingly showed that he was fine with the arrangement.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," I said consolingly. "I'll be sure to spend at least a little bit of time with him between my duties with James."

Marlene let out a small cheer after a final tug at my hair. "Done! Viola!"

She ran her hands through my now silky red hair and looked to me for approval. I took the style into account and smiled. I wasn't one to put much significance on looks, but even I had to admit that my hair looked marvelous.

"I love it," I said with a smile and Marlene nodded approvingly. "Your turn, Dorc," I called out over my shoulder.

Dorcas grinned and brought over her makeup kit. She placed it down on the vanity and opened the wooden box, showing all of the multiple utensils, powders, and tubes it contained. I cringed instinctually before relaxing. _Nothing's going to be overdone, _I reassured myself mentally. _Dorc is the calm and rational one. She explained to you what she's going to do and she gave you the option to change anything you don't like. Just relax and enjoy being pampered._

"Good to go, Lils?"

"Yeah," I replied happily. "Let's get this over with, please."

"Oh wow, she actually said please."

"Shut it."

Dorcas laughed. "Close your eyes," she ordered.

I did as I was told and resisted the urge to move away when I felt a brush sweep across my left eyelid.

"Hold still."

She quickly completed brushing the eye shadow across my lids and moved on to the mascara. I felt the brush slide effortlessly through eye sets of lashes twice before the lack of movement implied that I should open my eyes. I did so and was rewarded with the sight of three smiling girls.

"You look great, Lily," Alice commented. "Absolutely beautiful."

"And we're not even finished yet," Dorcas laughed. She then placed the mascara back into the box on the vanity before pulling out a tube of red lipstick. "Now, I know you're going to laugh, but I need you to pout your lips a bit."

I did laugh but then puckered my lips in a ridiculous fashion which caused us all to laugh.

"Lily, be serious."

I couldn't resist making a trademark Black joke in that moment. "I'm not Sirius. I'm Lily."

Marlene chuckled while Dorcas merely rolled her eyes. "Shut it and pout your lips _correctly_, please."

I sighed dramatically, "_Fine_." I then followed the correct procedure and parted and pouted my lips just enough so that Dorcas could coat them evenly.

"Thank you." And with that she got to work spreading the red color over my lips. _**(Wow, I just wrote 'lips' quite a bit and there wasn't even any snogging…lol)**_

After a few minutes Dorcas pulled away and smiled at her creation. "Looks perfect, Lils. You'll love it."

"Then why don't you move out of my way so I can see my reflection and judge for myself?" I teased.

Dorcas huffed. "Oi! Are you calling me fat?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Alright, alright. I'm moving."

Dorcas stepped to the left and I could finally admire myself in the mirror with the entirety of my makeover being complete. I gasped. I'd never worn as much make up before, but I couldn't deny how wonderful it looked. There was just the right amount of eye shadow, lipstick, and blush so that I still looked natural rather than overly done up. It was perfect.

"I love it! Thank you!"

Dorcas smiled a self-satisfied smile. Probably proud that she had gotten any makeup on me in the first place, let alone doing something I truly loved. "No problem, Lils."

Apparently I was the only one who deigned special treatment as I watched Dorcas place the kit back in her trunk.

"What about the rest of you?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, we're just going to apply ours magically," Marlene stated as if it were obvious.

I groaned. "Why didn't you all just do that for me?"

Marlene smirked. "Because it's much more fun to torture you."

"Besides, you're Muggle-born so it's more comfortable to do it manually," Dorcas added.

I rolled my eyes ad sighed. "Excuses, excuses."

"Let's just get ready, shall we? We only have two hours left before the dance."

I checked my watch to see that Alice was right. Where had all the time gone?

The four of us helped each other into our respective dresses and lounged around a bit before grabbing our clutches and putting on our heels. We made quite the striking group in my opinion.

Alice wore a flowy floral print dress the reached her knees along with sparkly silver heels. Dorcas had on a conservative dark blue dress and comfortable black ankle boots. Marlene wore the most noticeable outfit out of the four of us: a bright red halter top dress with gold stilettos. I completed the group with my emerald green shift dress and black five-inch heels.

We shared compliments and counted down the last few minutes before we needed to start heading out to the common room.

"Who's ready to party?" Marlene cheered excitedly once the clock hit eight.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Thank you to everyone who's sticking with me. If you have anything you'd like to see happen at the ball, let me know! :D**_

_**Random question: have any of you ever heard the phrase "Damn Skippy" before? I was talking with my nephew and I said that and he looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently that's not something that's commonly said in the southwest. I'm originally from Chicago, so I blamed it on that when he questioned me about it. I was just curious as to what other people thought. So, if you don't mind my weirdness, I'd appreciate your comments on that as well as the story. :]**_


	10. Author's Note

_**A/N: Hello everyone. I'm so sorry to inform that this is not an actual chapter.**_

_**I come to realize how long it's been since I uploaded the last chapter and I feel really guilty. I want to say that although it's been slow going, I do not have any plans to abandon this story.**_

_**I also want to say that I really have no plans for this story after the chapter about the dance (unless things change by the time I get the actual chapter written). So, if anyone has anything they'd like to see incorporated into the story I would love to hear any and all ideas/suggestions. Otherwise, this story will have two more chapter after this (the dance and some form of an epilogue) and that will be the end of it.**_

_**For those of you still with me, I thank you profoundly for sticking around through the ups and downs of this story.**_


	11. Not a chapter, but still important

I'll be adding this to each of my published fics, so I apologize if you have to see this more than once.

* * *

><p>Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.<p>

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. There are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable. Some have even lost stories because the SUMMARIES (not the actual stories) were not rated G… I wasn't even aware summaries could be rated, nor need to be G if the story itself was rated M.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added. On that note, readers, please consider signing this petition: petition/lemons-for-fanfiction/

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be losing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

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